Yes, it is PETA driven. The Gaboon viper shed found in the carolina’s turns out to have been sold on line by a breeder. The person that bought it was associated with HSUS and planted the shed to justify the pet ban bill being discussed there now.
It’s like the “hunter” that saw an african lion here in WV. No sign or trace of the animal has been seen EVER except this one guy that claimed to be hunting.
I have a collection of snakes that range from garter snakes to retics. I also have dogs. Dogs are far more dangerous than ANY pet snakes. The fatality rate in the US by pet reptiles is less than one half of one person per year. Compare that to dozens upon dozens of deaths by dogs per year.
Your statistic is meaningless. There are many times more per dogs in this country than pet snakes.
You cannot compare the relative danger of the two animals unless you compare human fatalities per snake with human fatalities per dog.