Pythons in B. C. despite exotic pet ban.
People turn to the Internet, U. S. to purchase dangerous illegal reptiles: vet
B. C. has banned the ownership of exotic pets, but that hasn’t stopped people from buying aggressive snakes like the African rock python believed to have been responsible for the deaths of two young boys in New Brunswick this weekend.
Dr. Adrian Walton, a veterinarian at Dewdney Animal Hospital in Maple Ridge and an expert in treating exotic pets, said rock pythons are very popular with reptile enthusiasts in Metro Vancouver and can easily be bought online or in the U. S. for around $ 200 or $ 300.
Although they were banned in B. C. three years ago along with many other species of exotic pets such as lions and tigers, pythons can live up to 30 years, so there are still many living in homes around the province.
There are 61 registered python owners in B. C., 46 of whom are in the Lower Mainland, according to the Ministry of Forests, Land and Natural Resource Operations. Boa constrictors are also banned, but there are about 11 of them still registered in B. C.
While he doesn’t have an estimate on how many illegal pythons may be living in Metro Vancouver, Walton said he is aware of locals who buy them online.
The problem, said Walton, is that some people buy dangerous reptiles like rock pythons or anacondas to bolster a tough- guy image, and they don’t understand how to care for them or know how to secure their cages properly.
“There is no such thing as an escape- proof cage for the African rock python,” said Walton, adding that he has seen quite a few cases of owners just placing a brick or a board on top of an aquarium in a misguided attempt to secure the python.
Walton has a permit from the province to keep reptiles at his clinic and home, and he is a veteran of treating many different types of aggressive reptiles.
He often will bring a rescue snake home, but he will keep it in a locked cage in a bolted room that has a combination known only to him and his wife.
And, with a five- year- old daughter in the house, he said he does not bring home snakes larger than two metres, and never an African rock python.
“This is a particularly nasty snake,” he said. “They are very strong. I would not bring this snake home, because accidents can happen. And why take the risk?”
When he must handle a rock python, Walton said he is not permitted to be alone with the snake — nor would he want to be. Often weighing between 90 and 100 pounds ( 40 to 45 kg) and growing up to six metres, a rock python can easily overwhelm even the best- trained snake handler, he added.
On Sunday evening, two young boys in Campbellton, N. B., were apparently strangled by a python as they slept in an apartment above a pet store. The victims have been identified as brothers, Noah Barthe, 4, and Connor Barthe, 6, who were at a sleepover with the son of the store’s owner, Jean- Claude Savoie. Police confirmed the snake was an African rock python weighing about 45 kilograms. The snake typically kills its victims by constricting them.
The snake had escaped its enclosure at the store sometime during the night, and got into the ventilation system and into the upstairs apartment, according to police.
While there have been a few cases in B. C. of pythons escaping, Walton said most python owners know how to care for the animal. “Most of them are so loved and well- fed that there is no reason to attack. And if they do get loose, they’ll just go find a nice hidey hole. Usually, they are just looking for warmth.”
Walton said it is possible that the snake may have smelled something that the boys ate for dinner, such as chicken. Although it is not known whether the boys were strangled or suffocated under the weight of the python, Walton warns that small children are at an extreme risk if faced with a rock python.
“It’s a loose weight, so it makes it very hard for people to handle. They are basically 100 pounds of muscle.”
He agrees that dangerous reptiles should be regulated, saying that he now realizes that 95 per cent of the population do not have the skills to care for them properly.
Pythons are non- venomous carnivores and kill prey by suffocation, squeezing it between their coils. As adult snakes, they prey on larger animals, including small antelope, warthogs, dogs, monkeys, waterfowl, goats and crocodiles.
Sara Dubois, manager of wildlife services for BC SPCA, said that since the provincial regulations came into effect, online sales for exotic pets have exploded. “It is still possible to illegally obtain these animals. But I think people need to be asking questions if their neighbours have exotic pets. They should ask, ‘ Is it legal, and is it registered?,’” she said.
Since July 1, 2010, pet store owners in B. C. have not been allowed to sell large pythons that are prohibited from sale under the Controlled Alien Species Regulation.
Owning a reptile species on that list without a permit could result in a $ 100,000 fine and one year in prison. Penalties for breeding or releasing such an animal into the wild could run up to $ 250,000 and two years in prison.
Under the law, individuals cannot possess, breed, release or transport controlled alien species on the prohibited list.