Incident similar to fatal python attack unlikely to happen in Waterloo Region

Two New Brunswick boys are dead after they were strangled by a python that escaped from an exotic pet store.

An incident similar to the attack that left two children dead in New Brunswick is unlikely to happen in Waterloo Region, experts say.

It was unlikely to happen in New Brunswick as well – Bry Loyst, curator of the Indian River Reptile Zoo near Peterborough, tells CTV News that thousands of similar pythons exist across Canada and the species is not known to attack humans – but local municipalities have their own bylaws restricting the keeping of similar snakes.

“In Waterloo, you cannot own a snake over three metres long,” says Malcolm Armstrong of the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society.

“In Kitchener, you can own a snake over two metres (long), but you do have to register it with us.”

The snake believed to have escaped a tank in Campbellton, N.B., and killed two young brothers while they slept is 15 feet – about 4.5 metres – long.

Venomous snakes of any length are banned in both cities, as are tarantulas and other venomous creatures. The snake under the spotlight in Campbellton is not venomous.

Anyone caught owning a large snake in contravention of Kitchener or Waterloo’s animal control bylaw is subject to a fine of up to $5,000, but Armstrong says it’s not a common call for the Humane Society.

“It’s actually a rare occurrence to deal with someone who has an illegal snake,” he says.

“We haven’t laid a charge for that in quite a while.”

Chris Albrecht of Big Al’s Aquarium Services in Kitchener says snakes are generally safe pets, but caution is generally a smart idea as they can be unpredictable.

“All snakes should be locked up at all times,” he says.

“It’s impossible to predict reptile behaviour (but) they are a large animal, capable of taking down large prey.”

Loyst’s theory is that the snake mistook the young brothers for food.

“For all we know these kids had chicken for dinner and they smelled like chicken,” he says.

RCMP are treating the site of the Campbellton incident as a crime scene, but no charges have been laid.

With files from CTVNews.ca