Posted by:
webwheeler
at Sat Mar 20 12:56:44 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by webwheeler ]
OK, Steph, I would like to call your attention to some of the points in the article you referenced:
The national average (for snake bites) is approximately 4 bites per 100,000 persons.
Deaths secondary to snakebites are rare. With the proper use of antivenin, they are becoming rarer still. The national average has been less than 4 deaths per year for the last several years.
That's 4 deaths per year out 12,000 envenomations in a population of 300,000,000. The number of people in the general public that have EVER been bitten by someone's escaped venomous snake is 0.
In the United States, more than 40% of victims put themselves in danger by either handling pets or attempting to capture reptiles in the wild.The popularity of keeping exotic species has increased the number of envenomations by nonnative species.
I say foul on this statistic because it mixes data from all envenomations and from people with all types of experience with venomous snakes and then paints an exaggerated conclusion about captive venomous snake keeping. Perhaps this is the logical fallacy you seek?
It seems this article does more to prove that venomous snake keeping is relatively safe than the opposite. What did I miss?
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RE: Moron argument alert - webwheeler, Sat Mar 20 12:56:44 2010