Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 07, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A5 winnipegfreepress. com TOP NEWS WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2013 A 5 C AMPBELLTON, N. B. - The death of two young boys who police believe were killed by an African rock python while they slept at a friend's apartment has rattled the northern New Brunswick city of Campbellton, where the children were remembered Tuesday as fun- loving free spirits. Noah and Connor Barthe, ages four and six, were found dead Monday morning after the 45- kilogram snake escaped its enclosure in the apartment, slithered through a ventilation system above and fell through a ceiling into the living room where they were sleeping, police said. Dave Rose, the great- uncle of the boys, said Noah was looking forward to starting kindergarten this fall, joining his older brother at elementary school, before " this awful tragedy." " We appreciate the outpouring of sympathy that's been shown," Rose told a news conference in Campbellton. Rose said the boys were spending the day with family friend Jean- Claude Savoie, who took them shopping and to a farm before they returned to his apartment for a sleepover. Paul ( Little Ray) Goulet, founder and co- owner of Little Ray's Reptile Zoo in Ottawa, said snakes don't recognize humans as a source of food, but if the children smelled like animals, it could explain an attack. " If a snake sees an animal moving, giving off heat and smells like a goat, what is it? It's a goat," said Goulet. " This is the reasonable explanation of how this has happened... they had been playing with farm animals, they did smell like their prey items and the snake, sadly enough, mistook them as a food item when they weren't." Relatives and friends of the boys and their family said they could not fathom what happened. " It's like a bad dream," said Shawna MacEachern, who has been a friend of the boys' mother, Mandy Trecartin, since childhood. " She loved her babies. They meant everything to her. She was an awesome mother. " They were both so sweet. They were fun- loving typical little boys." Trecartin's Facebook page shows a mother devoted to and proud of her boys. It features dozens of photos depicting them swimming in a kiddie pool, frolicking at a playground and posing with her for a family portrait. " My two super handsome boys sporting their Christmas PJ's," Trecartin wrote on a photo of the boys with their arms wrapped around each other in front of a Christmas tree last year. She could not be reached for comment. Her last photo of the boys dated July 30 shows them playing a hand- held video game console together. " We're all overwhelmed here," said Stephanie Bernatchez, who shares a mutual friend with Trecartin and whose children sometimes played with the boys. " They could have been hit by a car, but a snake? That's not something people around here expect." The RCMP said the boys were found dead Monday around 6: 30 a. m. in an apartment above Reptile Ocean, an exotic- pet store. The Mounties initially said the 4.3- metre- long snake escaped from the store at some point in the night, but on Tuesday, Sgt. Alain Tremblay said it escaped its floor- to- ceiling glass tank inside the apartment through a vent, allowing it to escape through a ventilation pipe. But the snake's weight caused the pipe to collapse and fall into the living room where the boys slept on a mattress, Tremblay said. The RCMP said Monday they believe the snake strangled the boys, but Tremblay said Tuesday investigators are waiting for the results of an autopsy on the children and a necropsy on the snake before commenting further on the cause of death. Asked why anyone in the apartment didn't appear to have heard anything, Tremblay said that was still under investigation. " It's something the investigators are going to talk to people about, and we are not there yet," he said. The snake was later captured by Savoie, who also owns Reptile Ocean. It was later put down by a veterinarian and sent for a necropsy in Fredericton to help determine what may have prompted it to attack the boys, Tremblay said, adding the RCMP have enlisted the help of a reptile expert. New Brunswick's Natural Resources Department said a special permit is required for African rock pythons, a nonvenomous species that is the largest snake in Africa. But the department said the snake's owner didn't have such a permit and it wasn't aware the animal was in the apartment. Teddy bears and candles were placed at the base of a utility pole across the street from the store as a memorial. Rose said funeral arrangements for the boys were not yet finalized. - The Canadian Press THE case of two small boys killed by a python in New Brunswick has put the spotlight on exotic- pet ownership in Winnipeg. Two boys, Noah Barthe, 5, and Connor Barthe, 7, of Campbellton, N. B., were found dead in an apartment above a reptile store Monday morning. It's suspected an African rock python got out of its glass enclosure in the apartment and strangled the two sleeping children. The python, reportedly 4.5 metres long, is not permitted in New Brunswick. Provincial law only allows the sale of non- venomous snakes up to three metres in length. Manitobans expressed concern and sympathy Tuesday about the Campbellton horror. " It's just an incredibly sad thing that's happened, but there are safeguards and measures in Winnipeg that hopefully would prevent anything like this from happening," said Rob Vendramelli, a spokesman for the Manitoba Herpetocultural Society. " I'm not just referring to the latest responsible- pet- ownership bylaw passed by the city. The previous bylaw outlawed these large types of snakes, too. " Technically, nobody in Winnipeg should have them." Last month, the city passed a stricter responsible- pet- ownership bylaw, with the exotic- animal section of the bylaw approved unanimously by council. The bylaw puts new restrictions on lizard ownership, but bans all front- fanged venomous reptiles, even if de- venomed, including vipers, cobras, African burrowing asps and sea snakes. As well, any member or offspring of the family Boidae ( common or green anaconda) and any member of the family Pythonidae ( African rock python, Burmese python) greater than two metres long is also prohibited. People can still own pythons and boa constrictors up to that length. " We feel that most of the reptile owners in Winnipeg follow the bylaws that we have in place, and hopefully nothing like this will ever happen here," Leland Gordon, Winnipeg's animal services agency chief operating officer, said Tuesday. The laws on exotic- pet ownership across Canada vary. Some places have no restrictions, Gordon said, adding Winnipeg is " middle of the road" on such regulations. " The two- metre limit still allows people to own a wide variety of snakes," he said. The African rock python, the snake in the New Brunswick tragedy, is an ambush predator. Vendramelli, who supports the limits on larger snakes in Winnipeg, said a rock python normally wouldn't go searching for its prey. They are typically a ground species, not a climber, and typically only attack when something crosses their path. " There are different species that might actively forage for food, but not this species," he said. As in many jurisdictions, Winnipeg's reliance on enforcement of exotic- pet regulations is complaint- based. Violations often occur privately until someone steps forward or the matter is brought into the open. If someone has a complaint or concern about snakes, Gordon advises them to call the city's 311 information line. " Animals and reptiles, they do get out sometimes," he said. " Right now, we have a chicken, a turtle and a small lizard at animal services. Those were found in public spaces. That's why we always stress proper housing of these animals. It's very important. It all boils down to responsible pet ownership and education." adam. wazny@ freepress. mb. ca Young brothers' horrific deaths astound Reptile expert explains why rare python attack may have occurred By Kevin Bissett THE CANADIAN PRESS / HANDOUT ABOVE: Noah ( left) and Connor Barthe, with mom Mandy Trecartin. BELOW: A memorial to the boys outside the pet store. JOHN LEBLANC / THE CANADIAN PRESS THE CANADIAN PRESS Adult human Largest adults ( 6 to 9 metres) New Brunswick snake ( 4.3 metres) African rock python size The African rock python can grow to between six and nine metres in length and weigh up to 113 kilograms. The snake in New Brunswick was about 4.3 metres in length and weighed 45 kilograms. City restricts length of anacondas, pythons By Adam Wazny A_ 05_ Aug- 07- 13_ FP_ 01. indd A5 8/ 6/ 13 8: 26: 19 PM ;