Police in Brantford, Ontario, a town just 65 miles southwest of Toronto, have seized 40 ball python snakes after finding a couple with them in a motel room that they'd booked for just one night.
Animal rescue experts said the reptiles were in poor condition when they were found and are currently being treated by the Canadian Society for the Protection of Animals.
The discovery of the vast snake storage comes just 11 days after two young boys were crushed to death by a 14ft long python in Canada.
Connor Barthe, six and his brother Noah, four, died in Campbellton, New Brunswick, after an African rock python escaped from its terrarium and killed the boys as they slept at a friend's house above a pet store, according to the Telegraph.
Police are currently investigating the discovery of the 40 pythons in the motel. The snakes reportedly range anywhere from one foot in length to four and a half feet long. The couple was not alone with the snakes as CNN reports Brantford Police Sgt. Cheney Venn said there were two children with the couple as well. They are currently undergoing a welfare investigation by police.
The couple was not in the motel room when police discovered the comically large number of snakes residing there. They said they were only renting the motel room because they'd been evicted from their home. Unfortunately, pythons are not legal for home ownership in Brantford according to the city's animal control bylaws. However, despite this no arrests have been made and no names have yet been released to the public.
"The snakes were not being suitably cared for and were in distress. The anxious officers called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals who attended and took 40 pythons into their care," a police statement said.
