Here's a recent article describing the risks of drowning in a pool:

Study: Portable pools as risky as in-ground pools

"The research being published Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows 209 deaths and 35 near-drownings of children under 12 from 2001 through 2009. Most of the children, 94 percent, were under 5, and 81 percent of the incidents happened during summer months."

The total number of people killed by drowning in a pool is higher than the above numbers while the number of people killed by pet snakes averages one per year.

I wonder what the statistics are for snowmobile deaths?

My point is that, while all of these activities are purely recreational, there seems to be a large, unfounded bias against keeping reptiles as far as relative risk is concerned. This unfounded bias manifests itself in both insurance rates and laws against keeping reptiles.

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