Reptile & Amphibian Forums

All the big snake, lizard and croc hating has really begun to irritate me....are they potentially dangerous, YES...do they belong in every home, hell NO, do they need federal action to restrict US citizens rights of ownership/?? HELL NO....

Please pass this on to other herpers, and non-herpers...open eyes, there are waaaay bigger problems than pythons, like failed mortgage lenders, automobile giants collapsing, California going bankrupt, a nation facing serious economic hardship....

In 2008, in only the US..there were 23 fatal dog attacks.

23 IN ONLY 2008!!!!!
Just a bit ludicrous that no one points that out...when in the past 35 YEARS only 12 can be attributed to Burmese pythons in the US, and there are a LOT of burms owned.

To put it in perspective as well... the victims of 2008:

Justin Stein, 8 month old baby boy, Brooklynn New York; Died January 4, 2008
Justin Mozer, 6 week old baby boy, Lexington Kentucky; Died January 17, 2008
Kelli Chapman, 24 year old woman, Longville Louisiana; Died January 20, 2008
Abraham Jonathan Tucket, 2 year old little boy, Fort Yukon Alaska; Died April 28, 2008
Julian Slack, 3 year old little boy, Camp Lejeune North Carolina; Died May 14, 2008
Tanner Joshua Monk, 7 year old little boy, Breckenridge Texas; Died May 18; 2008
Pablo Lopez, 5 year old little boy; Weslaco Texas; Died June 18, 2008
Lorraine May, 74 year old woman, Titusville Florida; Died June 28, 2008
Tony Evans Jr., 3 year old little boy, Jackson Mississippi; Died July 22, 2008
Addison Sony, 1 yr old little girl, Millcreek Pennsylvania; Died July 25, 2008
Zane Alen Earles, 2 month old little boy, Tulsa Oklahoma; Died July 28, 2008
Robert Howard, 35 year old man, Detroit Michigan; Died August 14, 2008
Isis Krieger, 6 year old little girl, Anchorage Alaska, Died August 14, 2008
Henry Piotrowski, 90 year old man, Staten Island New York; Died August 18, 2008
Luna McDaniel, 83 year old woman, Ville Platte Louisiana; Died September 4, 2008
Alexis Hennessey, 6 day old little girl, Hopatcong New Jersey; Died September 9, 2008
Cenedi Kia Carey, 4 month old little girl, Las Vegas Nevada; Died September 12, 2008
Jane Doe, 3 day old little girl, Warren Ohio; Died September 22, 2008
Katya Todesco, 5 year old little girl, Simi Valley California; Died September 26, 2008
Lopeka Liptak, 2 month old, Waianae Hawaii; Died October 5, 2008
Chester R. Jordan, 62 year old man, Muncie Indiana; Died October 31, 2008
Alaxander Adams, 2 year old little boy, Las Vegas Nevada; Died November 26, 2008
Gerald Adelmund, 60 year old man, Rubidoux California; Died December 19, 2008

These people all died from DOG attacks, several were the family dog, the trusted PET, "man's best friend"....

This is only the deaths that were reported and verifiable, and only from DOGS.

Do large constrictors pose potential risk? Absolutely! BUT large constrictor owners know this, they understand this, and they plan accordingly...how many people think about whether or not their dog will kill them, or their child tonight??????

-Riley

But this is not a fight of logisitics...

If 33 senators hold stocks in major banks, the banks will continue to receive bailouts and nothing will be done about the current mortgage lending crisis.

People like dogs and the problem is too big to fight without losing a major part of a congressman's constituency.

People are afraid of snakes so this is an easy battle for the anti-exotics people. It is an argument based on emotional appeal, fear mongering, and faulty logic. If you can't do anything about the big issues, do something about the little issues so that it looks like you are at least doing something!

Riley,
Thank you for a very informative post.
I have been posting the 1980 through present stats on forums also and sometimes people still trash the hell out of the burms.
Should the number be 0 yes but 12 well now 13 with the latest one in Florida is still far less than as you showed the people killed by dogs in the U.S.

The focus needs to be put where the blame should be also...
On the keepers. I have 19 adult burms in my house I have locks on all the cages and the room that the locked cages are in has a lock on it too. I also have children but they have no access to the key to the door or the keys to the cages.

Have I been bitten before yes and you know what every time it was in some way my fault complacency or just not on the ball.
Have I ever once blamed the snake no. Why because I did something wrong. Have any of my 4 children been bitten by my Burms HELL NO!! Because they are not put in harms way. If one of them was do you think for one second I would blame anyone but myself no. I would be the one responsible. And do you think I would not be attacked and bashed in every paper and on every forum for being a horrible person.... You bet. Why because I breed them. But the guy in Florida had a pet so the papers and the people who don't no better are blaming the snake not the guy with a pretty bad criminal record and some pretty crappy housing skills(burm in an aquarium with a quilt wrapped around it).

At any rate I just wanted to say thanks for your post.
Here was the only breakdown I could find it only goes from 1990 to December 2008.

2 in Colorado Both of them Burmese Pythons one was a man's Burmese Python 2002 and the other was a guys brother's burm and it happened in 1993
1 in Illinois in 1999 an owner's son was killed by his African rock python.
1 in Indiana in 2006 a man was killed by his reticulated python.
1 in New York in 1996 19 year old man killed by his Burmese Python.
1 in Ohio 2006 and you guys are going to love this one man killed by 13 foot Boa(later found to be a python) is on record as a boa though.
1 in Pennsylvania 2001 8 year old girl killed by a 10 foot Burmese python(thinking something may be fishy on this one too)
1 in Virginia 2008 woman killed by her reticulated python

And now 2009 Florida man allows 2 year old girl to be killed "by his python"
The extra 4 are not listed because the info I found on what constrictors where involved only went back 1990 so that is 13 constrictor related deaths in 29 years I hate that anyone has died but 13 in 29 years is a small number seeing as there are tons of people with constrictors out there.

Thanks again man,
Sam Bearden

*** BUT large constrictor owners know this, they understand this, and they plan accordingly. ***

Some do. Some quite obviously do not.