Harper promises review

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This article was published 10/08/2013 (4637 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PRIME Minister Stephen Harper vowed Friday to review Ottawa’s role in the regulation of exotic animals as questions mounted over why Environment Canada delivered the python that killed two boys to a pet store in New Brunswick.

Environment Canada said one of its wildlife officers brought the African rock python to Reptile Ocean in Campbellton 11 years ago, even though the species was banned in the province without a special permit.

Mark Johnson, a spokesman for the federal department, said in an email Environment Canada was asked to help take the snake to Reptile Ocean after it was abandoned at the SPCA in Moncton, N.B. His email did not address why the department would transport a banned animal, but he said department records indicate Reptile Ocean was operating as a zoo when the snake arrived at the facility in August 2002.

New Brunswick’s Department of Natural Resources said only accredited zoos can apply for a permit to own a banned species, including the African rock python in question.

But Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums organization said it is the only recognized national body to accredit zoos in the country and it has no record of Reptile Ocean ever applying for accreditation.

The Natural Resources Department declined to say whether Reptile Ocean was issued a permit for the python. But it has said it was unaware of the snake’s existence until the deaths of four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year-old brother, Connor, this week.

Spokeswoman Anne Bull declined to say in an email if Reptile Ocean was considered a zoo, citing the ongoing police investigation and privacy concerns. She was unable to say whether unaccredited zoos can legally operate in the province.

— The Canadian Press