Crews seize reptiles from python owner’s shop, some animals euthanized

Watch: Raw video of officials and zoo staff removing alligator from Reptile Ocean

CAMPBELLTON, N.B. – Zoo staff have seized more than 20 animals from an exotic pet store beneath the apartment where two boys were killed by a python in New Brunswick.

Bruce Dougan, the manager of the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton, N.B., said four American alligators inside Reptile Ocean in Campbellton will be euthanized because officials couldn’t find accredited zoos that would take them.

Dougan said 23 animals have been removed and they will be taken to zoos in New Brunswick and Ontario.

WATCH: Bruce Dougan speaks to media about the animals seized from Reptile Ocean

The animals are being seized days after four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year-old brother Connor were killed by a 45-kilogram African rock python in an apartment upstairs from Reptile Ocean.

Preliminary results of autopsies show that the boys were asphyxiated by the snake.

The Natural Resources Department obtained a warrant earlier this week to search the store and said if any illegal animals were found, they would be seized and relocated to accredited zoos.

WATCH: Ian Comeau, Campbellton Deputy Mayor discusses how the Barthe’s mother is coping ahead of Saturday’s funeral and whether she has spoken with owner of Reptile Ocean

Bry Loyst, founder of the Indian River Reptile Zoo in Ontario, said several accredited zoos in Ontario and New Brunswick have agreed to take the animals.

“We don’t want these animals. We’re just helping out,” Loyst said Thursday evening.

“It’s kind of cluttery inside so it makes it difficult to do this safely.”

WATCH: Endangered species discovered at Reptile Ocean 

The animals are being seized days after four-year-old Noah Barthe and his six-year-old brother Connor were killed by a 45-kilogram African rock python in an apartment upstairs from Reptile Ocean. Preliminary results of autopsies show that the boys were asphyxiated by the snake.

The Natural Resources Department obtained a warrant earlier this week to search the store and said if any illegal animals are found, they would be seized and relocated to accredited zoos. The building has been cordoned off with police tape since the boys were found dead Monday morning.

Police say the snake escaped a glass tank inside the apartment, slithered through a ventilation system and fell through a ceiling into the living room where the boys slept.

READ MORE: Two boys killed by python died from asphyxiation: RCMP

The apartment and store are owned by Jean-Claude Savoie, a family friend of the boys who took them shopping and to a farm before hosting a sleepover Sunday along with his son. Savoie has not returned messages for comment.

Since 1992, the African rock python has been banned in New Brunswick unless a permit is obtained. Only accredited zoos can obtain such a permit, the Natural Resources Department says.

Canada’s Accredited Zoos and Aquariums, the only nationally-recognized body in the country that grants accreditation for zoos, said Reptile Ocean was never accredited nor requested accreditation.

VIDEO: Investigation ongoing into the deaths of two NB boys killed by a python (August 7)

The Natural Resources Department said it was not aware that the African rock python was being kept in the apartment prior to the deaths of the boys.

A funeral service for the boys is scheduled for Saturday.