MONCTON, N.B. — A task force appointed by the provincial government after two New Brunswick boys were killed by an African rock python in 2013 is calling for the immediate inspection of all sites where exotic animals are kept.
All of its 29 recommendations on how to improve the management of exotic animals in the province were accepted today by the Department of Natural Resources.
The department says it will create a committee to ensure they are implemented.
The task force was established last July after the August 2013 deaths of four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year-old brother Connor.
They boys were asphyxiated inside an apartment in Campbellton where they were staying for a sleepover.
Among the recommendations, the task force wants immediate, provincewide inspections of all sites involved in public display, retail, research and the commercial farming of exotic animals.
It also calls for improved enforcement of regulations and greater public education on exotic species.
The task force was led by Bruce Dougan, manager of Moncton's Magnetic Hill Zoo.
