Dog Bites VS Snake Bites

[Hi-tech Redneck]

whats the ratio of people who come in contact with dogs to people who put themselves into situations where they could come in contact with a venomous snake?

 

[weakie]

There are, on average, 14 deaths from venomous snake bites annually (this number drops to 8, if you discount the illegitimate bites).


The Snakeman

Does this low number of snake related fatalities mean that killing snakes is working?

 

[LLove]

Here's some wisdom for you, and it is ALWAYS 100% true:
If it has a mouth, it WILL bite.
If it has feet, it WILL kick.

The Snakeman

Hey! thats like my moto!! "the bigger they are the harder they fall.... and kick, and punch, and bite."

 

[Blue Iron]

I've been doing a little research, sparked by the dog bite thread. Here's what I've found:

There are (on average) 800,000 people bitten by dogs every year. In those, there are 26 fatalities.

There are (on average) 7,000 venomous snake bites each year. Of those, approximately 3,000 bites are illegitimate bites (the person was harrassing or trying to capture the snake). There are, on average, 14 deaths from venomous snake bites annually (this number drops to 8, if you discount the illegitimate bites).

Looks to me like we should kill every dog we see, and leave the rattlesnakes, copperheads, and cottonmouths alone. After all, we are much more likely to get bitten and even KILLED by a dog than we are a venomous snake.

Here's an interesting read on Dog Bites:

DOG BITE LAW

The Snakeman

The Bible commanded me to "crush the serpents head" God didn't say nothing about dogs.

 

[Jamie Jainniney]

Since we are talking snakes, dogs, knives, let's throw in guns and cars! I don't know the statistics on deaths related to guns, but I do know that GUNS DO NOT KILL ON THEIR OWN, IT IS A PERSON THAT IS ON THE TRIGGER! Also, CARS DO NOT KILL ON THEIR OWN EITHER, IT IS A PERSON DRIVING THE CAR THAT KILLS. I guess my point is - as society, we pick and choose what may sound to be ethical to us. There are folks that want to kill snake because they bite, folks that want to remove dogs because they bite, folks that want to remove guns because the kill - but let's think of the human factor involved in all of the above situations: If the human was not there, would the dog bite? Snake bite? Gun kill? Car kill? ...... Just something to think about.......

 

[Coastie]

While in raw numbers (800000 bites/26 dead vs 7000 bites/14 dead) you may be correct, however, the percentage of people dieing from snake bite is overwhelmingly worse than those dieing from dog bites/attack. Regardless of whether the snake bite was provoked or not, the victim is just as dead. The raw numbers are, deaths from dog bite fatalities, .00325 % vs deaths from snake bite fatalities .2% are significantly in favor of the snake bite being more dangerous. What it really means is that there are fewer venomous snakes around than dogs and you are therefore more likely to run afoul of a dog than a snake.

 

[ronmac13]

Here's some wisdom for you, and it is ALWAYS 100% true:
If it has a mouth, it WILL bite.
If it has feet, it WILL kick.



right on snakeman

and that link you sent me about the snakes. was really helpful

 

[potsticker]

Here's some wisdom for you, and it is ALWAYS 100% true:
If it has a mouth, it WILL bite.
If it has feet, it WILL kick.



right on snakeman

and that link you sent me about the snakes. was really helpful

More words of wisdom about dog and snakebite. A snake will not bite for no reason, a dog has all the reasons in the world.

 

[ronmac13]

More words of wisdom about dog and snakebite. A snake will not bite for no reason, a dog has all the reasons in the world.

So why is everyone afaid of snakes, but inlove with dogs?

 

[hunter_58]

Here's some wisdom for you, and it is ALWAYS 100% true:
If it has a mouth, it WILL bite.
If it has feet, it WILL kick.

The Snakeman

not too wise !!!
you girls dont have grand kids.
I will never understand someone debating what to do when their neighbors dog chases their kids on their property.
My only question would be, where to throw the dead dog, in a hole, or on my neighbors front porch.
Anything that tries to attack a child will not get a second chance around me. The same would go for my dog and another persons kid.
Rattlesnakes and Copperheads wont get the first chance.

 

[ronmac13]

you girls dont have grand kids.


what do you mean by you girls?

And if im not mistaken snakeman does have grand kids.

 

[hunter_58]

you girls dont have grand kids.


what do you mean by you girls?

And if im not mistaken snakeman does have grand kids.

For the ones that cant separate the idea of taking something out because of a threat or perceived threat.
Some on here have been debating what to do when say a dog threatens one of their kids or grand kids etcetera.
what i'm saying is there is no debate you dont wait till something bad has happened then take action.

Do you understand what i mean??? I dont know where you or any other would fall in this category???
If it meant going to jail for shooting your neighbors dog so it doesn't attack you kids, you go to jail. no ifs ands or buts . just my opinion !!!

As far as do you have grand kids it means exactly that !
When you have grand kids, you are a little older and a little less caring about the side effects as long as kids are protected.

Just a little wisdom for you all

 

[crackerdave]

Most snakebites are either because somebody stepped on [or too close to] a snake,or they were handling the snake.Either way,it seems like a clear case of self-defense on the snake's part.Dogs bite in self defense,too,but they will also bite just because they can.Same reason they lick their privates.

 

[quackertackr]

I still have not heard why you are comparing all dog bites to just poisonous snake bites? Are there statistics of all snake bites combined versus all dog bites combined?

 

[Snakeman]

I still have not heard why you are comparing all dog bites to just poisonous snake bites? Are there statistics of all snake bites combined versus all dog bites combined?

I compared venomous snake bites to dog bites due to the propensity of people to kill every venomous snake that they see, when the statistics (I hate statistics) show that you are much more likely to be bitten by a dog than a venomous snake. The number of deaths by dog bite is also greater than the number of deaths by snake bite.

I was unable to locate anything information on just "snake bites", however, I could have listed the number in the original post as just "snake bites" and the number would never have been questioned.

For what it's worth, the CDC lists animal bites as "provoked" or "non-provoked". If you are petting the dog, and it bites you, it was a provoked bite. I found this out when I reported that a horse had bitten a little girl. Because the child was interacting with the horse, it was considered a provoked bite, even though the girl was doing nothing but petting the horse.

And, in response to the questions about the number of dogs vs the number of snakes and the probability of coming into contact with a dog vs coming into contact with a snake...........don't you reckon that if most people killed every dog they came in contact with (like they do snakes) the numbers would be closer?

Another bit of wisdom that I picked up somewhere over the years........for every snake you see, there were probably 10 that you didn't see.

The Snakeman