Article content continued

But Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums 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.

No one from the department was made available for an interview. Spokeswoman Anne Bull declined to say in an email whether Reptile Ocean was ever 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.

Animal welfare advocates said the case in New Brunswick highlights major gaps in laws governing exotic animals.

“In this instance, there were laws prohibiting it, but clearly enforcement was either non-existent or inadequate,” said Nick Wright, a lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice Canada.

I think our regulations are grossly inadequate across the country

“There’s no uncertainty that the African rock python is a species that should not be permitted to be kept in captivity in the way that it was.”

Melissa Matlow, a Toronto-based animal advocate, said she was appalled that the python would be taken to Reptile Ocean without the appropriate measures in place.

“If (that) is confirmed to be true, then it’s shocking that Environment Canada would just drop a snake off at a place that sounds like it didn’t have proper permits,” said Matlow, a spokeswoman for the World Society for the Protection of Animals.