By paNOW

Lots of interest in having pythons as pets in Regina

Aug 7, 2013 | 1:31 AM

Despite a 4.3-metre python being responsible for the deaths of two young boys in New Brunswick, an exotic pet store owner in Regina feels the animal is still relatively safe.

Stuart Cook with Prairie Aquatics and Exotics said, for the most part, that snake isn’t as dangerous as it’s perceived even though it is illegal in Saskatchewan.

“The majority of species, I don’t think they’re something that poses any form of a threat to people,” Cook said.

“Even from the larger species, (there’s) a lot more danger from a dog or getting in to your car and going to Tim Hortons or going to a store than you ever are from something like that.”

The comments come after the boys, roughly aged five and seven, were found dead in an apartment Monday where the snake was being kept. Authorities say the animal somehow got out of its enclosure then made its way in to the ventilation system and in to the living room where the boys were sleeping.

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Owning snakes in general aren’t out of the ordinary in Saskatchewan.

“They’re a very common pet. A lot of people don’t realize but if you know 10 people, you probably know three people with snakes,” said Cook.

The public seems to have an interest in pythons specifically. Cook believes people gravitate towards them because they’re easy-going and low maintenance. Cook claimed people come in to the store inquiring about them often.

“It is something that does happen fairly frequently. Maybe not every day but every few days.”

The Ministry of Environment’s Lyle Saigeon said in order to bring a python in to Saskatchewan, you would need a wildlife import permit which he said has not been issued for large snakes in quite some time. The Captive Wildlife Regulations previously stated that owning a python was illegal, however the snake’s classification was recently changed and now the law needs updating.

“We’re currently in the process of revising our Captive Wildlife Regulations, not specifically just for snakes,” he outlined. That could include crocodiles since those animals are technically legal to have as the law stands now. When it comes to pythons though, Saigeon said it won’t be an outright ban.

“It isn’t necessarily a blanket prohibition of all pythons but the large pythons that pose public risk will not be allowed if they’re deemed to be dangerous.”

He claimed there’s been a sudden, huge growing interest among the public to own exotic and unusual pets. Saigeon said the internet is making it easier to purchase pets online. This is leading to animals the province hasn’t had to deal with in the past.

He couldn’t offer up a date as to when we might see changes, but maintains it’s one of their top priorities.

Saskatchewan’s Forestry Farm and Zoo has a python. Manager John Moran said they have a royal ball python, which is a smaller, less aggressive species. They still don’t let just anyone handle the snake, Moran said.

“We will not put the animal on a child or have a child or adult hold the animal. It is always held by one of our keepers or education programmers,” he said.

“People that work with them and have knowledge of them are usually very careful not to get themselves into a position where the animal could quell themselves around a human. They’ve been known in the jungles of South America to take full-grown adults down.”

-with files from News Talk Radio’s Kelly Malone

news@panow.com

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