A five-metre-long (16 feet) scrub python swallows a pet dog in this handout photo taken on February 25, 2008 by the Australian Venom Zoo in Cairns in Northern Australia, and released to Reuters on February 28, 2008. The python stalked an Australian family's dog for days before swallowing the silken-terrier chihuahua whole in front of children, local media said on February 27, 2008. REUTERS/Australian Venom Zoo/Stuart Douglas/Handout (AUSTRALIA).

Snake owners get a panic attack after a pet snake in New Brunswick killed two young children.

There have been strict laws regarding the ownership of exotic animals here. These laws were further revised in 2007 when a pet tiger killed a woman. However, many pet owners are unaware of those laws.

British Columbia laws allow people to own larger pets with prior permission. Sixty-one permits have been issued in B.C. so far for pythons (more than 3 metres long) and 11 for boas (0.91 to 4 metres long). Some are owned by a few production houses while the rest by individuals.

The python, that killed Noah and Connor Barthe, aged five and seven, was 14ft (4.3m) long and 45kg (100lb) heavy. The snake was kept in a glass cage in the flat above and apparently escaped through the ventilation system. The breathless bodies were removed the next night.

The dead bodies were moved to Saint John to carry out further examination and do the post-mortem. The criminal investigation has been initiated as two young children lost their life in a rather mysterious manner. On the other hand, there were no charges filed against anyone yet.

Jean-Claude Savoie, the owner of the snake, thought that the children were sleeping, when he turned on the lights, he witnessed the terrible scene. The snake was captured in the same room. A veterinarian later destroyed the snake.

Mr Savoie's son was unharmed as he was asleep in the other room. He was friends with the two boys who got killed by his father's pet python. Mr Savoie has been the owner of the serpent for almost 10 years. Not everyone was able to handle the python as it was handled exclusively by its owner. Under normal circumstances, the python was kept alone.

The deputy mayor if Campbellton, Ian Comeau, described the incident as a 'tragedy'. He also says that the city was shocked to know about it. According to experts, it is extremely rare for an exotic snake like that to attack human beings.