Ok my math was off last night, I should reserve thinking for times when i'm awake.
But I just crunched some numbers that should prove beneficial in proving your case. I'd lay these out on some sort of pie chart or some easy to understand diagram for the meeting. It's hard to argue with facts.
Captive reptile related deaths in the past 21 years = 18
Average death count in the US each year = 2,400,000
Estimated US death count in the past 21 years = 50,400,000
Percentage of US deaths attributed to captive reptiles in the past 21 years = 0.00003%
captive reptile related non fatal injuries in the US in past 21 years = 95
Est. non fatal injuries in the US each year = 30,000,000
Estimated non fatal injuries in past 21 years = 630,000,000
Percentage of non fatal injuries attributed to captive reptiles = 0.000015%
The state of VA has had 2 deaths in 21 years, with an average of 56,000 deaths per year. Making the percentage of deaths attributed to reptiles 0.00017%
I haven't been able to find VA injury statistics, but reptile related injuries = 5 in 21 years with 3 of them being the same guy, and the same snake. That would lead me to blame operator error lol.
I hope this info will help in the fight. I've found best way to fight politics is with politics, and ignorance with cold hard facts. Storming the meeting with tons of people will get you seen, but proves nothing, go armed with facts, and knowledge and prove what you set out to prove.
Other stats that would be helpful are economical stats. How much does the industry produce each year, how many jobs does it create? It's great to talk about it, but having numbers there to back it up will make the talking be heard rather than going in one ear and out the other.
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