Paul Hansen's Page

In a short comment on Culture & Ethics, Discovery Institute’s Wesley J. Smith applauded Donald Trump for declaring January 2018 as “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.” Trump’s decree reads in part as follows:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby…

Sporadically, I watch the “Outdoor” channel on cable TV in a recurring attempt to understand the mind-set of trophy hunters and why they seem able to take the life of a wild animal so glibly and gleefully without regard for its suffering, respect for its natural habitation, or (in some cases) concern for its nursing offspring.

I still don’t understand their apparent callousness. They seem devoid of empathy. Some have suggested…

Despite the 1990 ban on ivory trade, elephants continue to be killed by poachers. According to Defenders of Wildlife, at the turn of the 20th century, there were a few million African elephants and about 100,000 Asian elephants. Today, there are an estimated 450,000 to 700,000 African elephants and between 35,000 and 40,000 wild Asian elephants. Defenders of Wildlife is working through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to maintain a ban on the sale of ivory…

Professor Eleonora Gullone, Associate Professor in Psychology at Monash University, Australia, believes that “Almost without exception, the perpetrators of animal cruelty crimes are the same individuals who carry out aggressive and violent acts including assault, partner and child abuse. Thus, animal cruelty crimes should be treated with the same seriousness as crimes against humans. Moreover, the punishments should reflect their severity." For more details on her new book, Animal…