Authorities on Friday seized and euthanized 46 illegal pythons found in a home in Mission, B.C., located a short distance from a local school.
CTV News reports that conservation officers found about 100 snakes total. The reticulated pythons, likely the largest snakes in the world, are a prohibited species in British Columbia.
The reptiles were discovered by a landlord who then alerted the B.C. Conservation Officer Service.
“No one at that residence had a permit to possess those snakes and those snakes did pose a risk to public safety,” Insp. Chris Doyle said Friday.
The longest python in the house was over four metres in length, according to the Abbotsford-Mission Times.
The discovery in Mission comes only days after police discovered 40 pythons in a motel room in Brantford, Ont. Public concern about exotic pet ownership has increased after an African rock python asphyxiated two young brothers in New Brunswick in early August.
- Decapitated snake bites its own tail (o.canada.com)