Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I saw a documentary yesterday. According to a Florida law enforcer: keeping a venomous snake is like playing russian roulette. Owning a gun is safer, because they can treat you rigth away, without figuring what antivenin to use.

In the US: 11,000 deaths/year due to firearms and 12 from snake bite (of which how many constrictors and round up accidents?). I figure we need a better lobby group.

My guess is you were watching "Natures Nightmares: snake bite" I think it was brought up before in here and I believe there was a mixup in the wording. Either way, Jim Harrison is very respectable and maybe he will comment on his brothers quote you are bringing up. Or maybe there will be a response right from the source. Either way, I would not worry about it too much. The point is somewhat valid when you are dealing with exotic stuff and you saw that problems do happen. I would spend more time worrying about what comes out of the mouths of the fellow hobbyists and not the professionals. The "bad eggs" that cause the problems stick out far more in people's minds than a comment from law enforcement (I didn't forget the huge gaboon he took out of the garage and its been a while since I have seen that documentary). But I will say I would rather take a bite from a venomous snake than be shot in the head or multiple times in the chest. Not many snakes are as persistant in killing you as people are. But what do I know...I have never been bitten by a venomous snake or shot in the head.

Hate to burst your happy bubble but of all the guns owned in the us how many people die every year from accidently shooting themselves...compare that with the number or people bitten accidently by their venomous snakes...
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FACT:In 2002, there were 30,242 gun deaths in the U.S:

17,108 suicides (56% of all U.S gun deaths),
11,829 homicides (39% of all U.S gun deaths),
762 unintentional shootings (3% of all U.S gun deaths),
and 300 from legal intervention and 243 from undetermined intent (2% of all U.S gun deaths combined).
-Numbers obtained from CDC National Center for Health Statistics mortality report online, 2005.

There are 80 million gun owners in the US. Let's say, 5000 hot keepers? 12 deaths of snake bite, that would indeed be more. But most of those twelve are not from captive snakes. So...

It is of course very dangerous indeed. Do any of you use protective clothing, other than hooks and stuff? I 've seen a kevlar industrial costume, that would do the thrick, I think.

And just to put scope of both snake bites and that accidental gun death number into the context of a country of a quarter of a BILLION people:

Deaths from... (all but the snakebite number which I couldn't find quickly are also from the CDC)
Snakebite: 12
Unintentional shooting 762
Unintentional falls: 15,091
Unintentional auto: 42,443
Influenza & Pneumonia: 65,681
Heart Disease: 696,947

>>FACT:In 2002, there were 30,242 gun deaths in the U.S:
>>
>>
>>17,108 suicides (56% of all U.S gun deaths),
>>11,829 homicides (39% of all U.S gun deaths),
>>762 unintentional shootings (3% of all U.S gun deaths),
>>and 300 from legal intervention and 243 from undetermined intent (2% of all U.S gun deaths combined).
>>-Numbers obtained from CDC National Center for Health Statistics mortality report online, 2005.
>>
>>There are 80 million gun owners in the US. Let's say, 5000 hot keepers? 12 deaths of snake bite, that would indeed be more. But most of those twelve are not from captive snakes. So...
>>
>>It is of course very dangerous indeed. Do any of you use protective clothing, other than hooks and stuff? I 've seen a kevlar industrial costume, that would do the thrick, I think.