TIMES AND TRANSCRIPT (Moncton, New Brunswick) 23 September 05 Magnetic Hill Zoo finds temporary home for creepy critters; Burmese python snake, caiman and Nile monitor among animals seized from Saint John home now residing at Moncton zoo (Charles Perry Times)
The Magnetic Hill Zoo will be hosting a few unexpected visitors for the next little while. Eight different species of exotic lizards and snakes were recently seized from a home in Saint John, all of which are included on the list of illegal pets by the Department of Natural Resources. Asked by DNR for assistance, the Magnetic Hill Zoo agreed to look after the animals until a permanent home can be found for them, said Bernard Landry, the facility's zookeeper in charge of carnivores, reptiles and invertebrates. A special permit is required for all of them, meaning only a zoo or some similar operation would be eligible, certainly not an individual home, he said.
Landry said the seized creatures include is a Burmese python. Females can reach a length of 20 and 25 feet (six to seven metres) and weigh 150 to 200 pounds (67 to 90 kiligrams). He noted Magnetic Hill already has five Burmese pythons and does not need another.
There is also a large rock python which are "nasty and aggressive" and can reach a length of 20 feet (six metres), as well as a boa constrictor, a South American snake that is about eight feet (2.4 metres) long. As well, a speckled caiman was seized from the Saint John home, said Gallant. They are a member of the crocodile family, but are much smaller than their more famous cousins, said Gallant. "They are about seven centimetres (two inches) long." The other four in the group, said the zookeeper, are a Nile monitor and a Savannah monitor, both of whom are related to the komodo dragon but are not as big in size, as well as a green iguana and a water dragon.
Gallant said the Magnetic Hill Zoo has most these animals or variations of them. For instance, he said they do not have a Nile monitor but they do have a water monitor, and they do not have a speckled caiman but they do have a dwarf caiman, the latter of which is a rare species and a "lot more endangered" than the former. Although the Magnetic Hill Zoo would not be taking any of them on a permanent basis, the zookeeper said they will do their best to try to find a home for them at another zoo. He said Bruce Dougan, the zoo's general manager, will be attending a meeting next week of representatives from zoos across Canada. During the session, he will ask if any of the other zoos would be interested in obtaining any of these exotic animals, he said.
"I think we may be able to find homes for some of them, but I seriously doubt we will find homes for all eight of them," said Gallant. "That is too bad," he said, "because those others (not finding accommodations) will likely have to be put down."
NEW BRUNSWICK TELEGRAPH JOURNAL (Saint John) 23 September 05 Man 'flipping' after reptiles confiscated; Eight exotic pets taken after Natural Resources Department gets complaint (David Shipley)
An East Saint John man's whose exotic reptiles, including a 4.2-metre long Burmese python, have been seized is threatening to sue to get them back.
Kevin MacKinnon says he's going to fight to get his Burmese python, 2.7-metre African rock python, 1.8-metre boa constrictor, spectacled caiman, water dragon, Nile monitor, Savanna monitor and a green iguana back from the Department of Natural Resources. The animals were seized by the department Sept. 12 after it received a complaint call. The eight reptiles, varying in age and size from hatchlings to fully grown, were taken from Mr. MacKinnon's baby barn in the Latimore Lake trailer park.
"I'm flipping that they're going," said Mr. MacKinnon. "There's going to be lawsuit file," he said. "I'm planning on doing everything I can do," he said.
Mr. MacKinnon, 36, said he's owned reptiles for 25 years and he's been in the public with his animals in shows for his Hiss'n'Things Travelling Reptile Zoo. He said he was not aware the reptiles he owned were banned in the province. Many local pet stores don't know about the restrictions, he said.
"Nothing's sent to you stating this is what you're allowed to have, this is what you're not allowed to have," he said. While he agrees that some animals should be restricted and that their should be rules for the ownership and care of exotic pets, he said none of his animals were dangerous.
Brent Roy, spokesman for the Department of Natural Resources said the reptiles were being cared for at Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton. Only the two accredited zoo's in the province are allowed to have the kinds of reptiles Mr. MacKinnon owned.
Enforcement of the rules about exotic animals as pets is difficult because each province has different rules and there are no checks done a provincial borders. "A lot of these animals come in by accident, somebody may have had a Burmese python that would have been allowed in another jurisdiction, it varies so much from province to province," he said.
Part of the problem in dealing with exotic animals is that the department would need to create a whole new exotic animal section to issue licenses, check on animals and conduct enforcement, he said. There are 23,000 species on the province's exotic animal list, he said. In order to consider which animals can be allowed factors such as the ability of the animal to establish a population in the province and whether it poises a threat to humans must be considered, he said. The department is investigating how Mr. MacKinnon came to own the different reptiles.
"We don't think that pet stores are deliberately trying to snub the law, I just don't think it's very clear to them."
