Python owner didn’t have a permit, says N.B. government
Posted Aug 6, 2013 05:45:46 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The New Brunswick government says no permit was issued for an African rock python that police believe is responsible for the deaths of two young boys in Campbellton.
Steve Benteau, a spokesman for the provincial Natural Resources Department, says the province wasn’t aware the 45-kilogram, 4.3-metre long snake was being kept at an apartment where Noah and Connor Barthe were killed. The department says the snake is generally only permitted in accredited zoos, unless there is a special permit.
The RCMP say the snake escaped its enclosure at the apartment, got into the ventilation system and then into the apartment living room where the boys were sleeping.
Zoocheck Canada, an animal welfare group, says the deaths of the boys highlight the need for New Brunswick and other provinces to toughen their rules and enforcement on exotic animal ownership.
