Exotic animal recommendations coming in March, task force says

New Brunswick's exotic animal task force, struck in response to the deaths oftwo young brotherskilled by an escaped python inCampbelltonlast year, will release its recommendations in March.

Earlier this week, the newly-formed task forcemet with the country's top accreditation bodythe Canadian Accredited Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA) to review its best practices, said chairman BruceDougan.

"When it comes to keeping animals in captivity they're the first ones we wanted to talk to," saidDougan, who is also the director of the Magnetic Hill Zoo inMoncton.

CAZA'sstandards are the highest in Canada, he said.

"If you're an accredited zoo, you have to go through a very in-depth procedure in which they look at all of what you doanimal care, veterinary care, education programs, conservation programs, your facilities, your public safety, animal health issues, diets all of that sort of thing."

The six-member task force is looking at how those procedures can be extended andapplied to aquariums, circuses and educational animal programs in New Brunswick, Dougan said.

'New Brunswick can lead the way'

Massimo Bergamini,the executive director of CAZA, describes the process as "very promising."

"We've said this all along, we think New Brunswick can lead the way for the rest of Canada," he said.

Although some municipalities have adopted the CAZA system, B.C. is currently the only province to have done so, said Bergamini.

B.C. "put their system in place in 2009 after the death of a young woman that was mauled by a tiger," he said.

The New Brunswicktask force was struck in July, after the RCMP concluded its investigation into the deaths ofConnorBarthe, 6, and his brother four-year-old brother Noah.

Theywere killed in August 2013by an African rockpython that escaped from its cage in a pet store located in the same building where the boys were sleeping.

Reptile Ocean was an unlicensed zoo and pet store, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

Jean-Claude Savoie, the owner of Reptile Ocean pet store, has not been charged in relation to their deaths but was a subject of a criminal investigation.

The RCMP turned the file over to Crown prosecutors in July and the Department of Natural Resources struck the task forceto review the provinces exotic animal laws and regulations and recommend changes to prevent future tragedies.

The other task force members include:

• Hilary Howes, the New Brunswick SPCAs executive director
• Nelson Poirier, a retired veterinarian from Moncton
• Mike Sullivan, the director of the Department of Natural Resources fish and wildlife division
• Ken Bryenton, a Department of Environment and Local Government policy advisor
• Mike Johnston, the executive director of Inspection and Enforcement with the Department of Public Safety