14 DAY TRIAL // Two boys, aged 5 and 7 have been killed when a python escaped a reptile store in Campbellton, New Brunswick in Canada.
The snake that has escaped from the Reptile Ocean store has been identified by an employee as an African rock Python, Tree Hugger reported. It measures 14 - 15 feet (4.3 - 4.6 meters) in length and weighs about 100 lbs (45 kg).
Police were called in on Pleasant Street at 6:30 a.m.; Campbellton RCMP Cpl. Alain Tremblay tells the CBC how the boys died after being strangled by the non-venomous snake.
“The preliminary investigation has led police to believe that a python snake escaped its enclosure in the store sometime overnight.
“I can tell you it's a criminal investigation right now to determine if any criminal act is responsible for the death of the two boys,” he says.
Const. Julie Rogers-Marsh explains that the animal crawled out through the ventilation system and made its way to a neighboring home.
“It's believed the two boys were strangled by the snake,” she adds.
A petition to close down the exotic pet store has been in place for a year now, with residents complaining about how the animals were kept.
“The humidity is disgusting for all the animals, i understand if it was just reptiles but its not.. They got hamsters and bunnies, and a whole lotta birds.
“First time i went there there was at least 10 hamsters per 5 gallon aquarium tanks. Some were dead, actually being eaten by other of those rodents,” it reads.
According to Little Ray's Reptile Zoo curator and co-owner Lisa Janes, pythons do not usually attack humans even when hungry. The snake might have been startled or food could have been in the room.
“They bite because they're feeling scared or threatened, or because they smell food,” she details.