Dolphin Dealer – Christopher Porter
I just finished watching a program on CBC’s Doc Zone: The Dolphin Dealer. A feature on a man named Christopher Porter.
Anyone who knows me well, knows how much I love Dolphins. Yes, they make us love them because of the perception of being playful, happy creatures that are smiling, but beyond that is their intelligence. Extremely good hunters in the wild, highly communicative, we are quick to understand there is far more to these animals than little tricks they are trained to do in the aquariums.
Christopher Porter was apparently a past employee of the Vancouver Aquarium but went on to the business of capturing, trafficking and profiting from the sale of dolphins. He found a great place to carry out his ventures in the Solomon Islands. Dolphins plentiful, killed by the indigenous people for various reasons some for subsistence, some not. Mr. Porter may have hit the jackpot. A place where buying off the government is not unheard of, the people he employed willing to do whatever he wished in order to profit and operations are so far away from the glare of media many of us would never know he or it existed.
Here is an interesting note: Christopher Porter lives (when not in the Solomons) in Victoria, British Columbia. Yes, he has a wife and children who according to the broadcast live here while he works down there. I wonder if they had bought into the line of BS the way others did that Mr. Porter was off caring for dolphins?
Now, in fairness and to protect my *** the same way Mr. Porter would…he is only allegedly Bull Ssing people and in no way has been found guilty of any crimes associated with the business of wild animal sales. However, as a general citizen I have the right to say how disgusted I was to see what he does for a living. There is a strong possibility (documented by several leaders in dolphin/marine animal welfare) that many dolphins died in his charge and that he left them instead of caring or releasing them when there were some questions as to whether he would still be aloud to do business. In this story you saw dolphins who appeared to be starving and that was very upsetting, for someone who cares for animals as he professes I ask, “Why, did you abandon them?”
Here is my confession: I swam with the dolphins many years ago in Cozumel. A place that was recommended to me as a more humane outfit in which there was vast amounts of ocean between us and the dolphins and they may or may not come to us. Now, I look back at this and say “God, I hope I was not a duped tourist and that any of these dolphins were part of this type of capture. Over the years, as I have become more informed I have made my stand against wild animals being in captivity, unless for rehabilitation and release programs. I do not go to the Vancouver Aquarium or the Zoo’s for that same reason. If I need to learn about the dolphins I will do it through other means.
You will never catch me at a circus and having wild animals do things just to make us laugh and clap is nothing short of cruelty in my mind. So, after watching this program I felt incredibly sad for the slaughter depicted and alleged wrongful death of these animals. I was purely disgusted by the involvement of a fellow British Columbian and thankful for all of those that were shown to be working tirelessly to shut down Mr. Porters trafficking business.
Mr. Porter’s ego looked too big and his lust for the almighty dollar too great to expect any change of heart on his part. Hopefully by becoming informed, all of you out there (and I) that may think it is cute to watch or swim with the dolphins will think harder and ask the question “Where did these dolphins come from?” Here is part of the answer: From the wild ocean, surrounded by its family and the food it hunts to survive, not to be hand fed or born just to please humans.
If you want to know about any animal read a book or watch the Planet Earth series, gain insight from people who study them in their natural habitat and report back. That approach means people like Mr. Porter will have to find another way to grow his bank account. I have a few suggestions for him which I will be happy to provide as a career consultant…my fee per suggestion is upwards of $25,000 Mr. Porter. A number I’m sure you know really well.
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Having a son, who is a conservationist & Marine Biologist, I share Jennifer’s love for wildlife and the oceans.
He married his Geographer/Biologist wife in the San Juan Islands eight years ago and all the guests at his small wedding enjoyed a whale watching trip in a small inflatable boat, complete with a commentary and conservation talk given by the bride and groom.
Stephen too worked at the Vancouver Aquarium while doing his Masters at UBC, although I do not imagine that he would have included Mr, Porter amongst his group of friends!
Thanks for your comment. That is the two words worth hearing “Conservationist and Marine Biologist.” Learning from people like your son and his wife makes far more sense. No major disruptions in the life of the animal.
Just want to pipe up my agreement on the never supporting zoos or circuses…and don’t forget the rodeo..ugh..so much cruelty goes on in the world under the guise of ‘entertainment’ that it sickens me to the core. I don’t understand why everyone in general doesn’t see it the same way. Why is it so widely accepted? Isn’t the cruelty obvious enough? Doesn’t anyone have their thinking caps on? If there was no support, there would be no market and, hence, no cruelty to animals. Unfortunately, in this unenlightened era, the general masses prefer to turn a blind eye to these kinds of things. But the truth remains and we can only hope one day more begin to acknowledge it.
I share your passion for this topic and your questions. It has constantly baffled me as to why people are unable to grasp what must take place in order for an animal to do the exact opposite of its nature.
We would not want someone to decided how and where we will live, make us perform and scold us if we don’t. With any training or prolonged captivity we have changed them in irreversible ways. For what? So that we and our children can be entertained?
One person I recently spoke to said, she was aware in Dubai dolphins have been bought not only to attract tourist but for wealthy people to have them in their pools. Of course, they die and what do they do, go buy more.
Yes, we can only hope one day more people will acknowledge what truly is going on.
Jennifer I hope than you are supportive of my Free the Pod campaign. I am working with Ric O’Barry and other past opponents. The Solomons kill dolphins for their teeth and meat. As a trainer of marine mammals for 21 years, my only live solution was aquariums. Through time I have realized the effects on seperating these animals from family groups. Tillikum’s recent attack on his trainer(a killer whale I trained 21 years ago),secured that we still have a long way to go to provide for these animals every need. I hope that you can spread the word on this project of release as much as you spread my past actions. Regarding the money statement… I am a Socialist Capitalist that uses capitalism for social means. I generated a lot of money for Solomons but did not earn a lot. I am now working to generate them funds and alternative livliehoods that do not involve killing or capturing dolphins. Help Spread the Word… http://www.freethepod.org
Chris Porter ex-Dolphin Dealer
Thank you, Chris for adding your voice to this post. As you can appreciate there are many skeptics out here and I am one of them. It is my hope that your project is truly coming from a place of good intentions and that you have had a change of heart. Once your past opponents like Ric O’Barry can accept your work, so too may the rest of the public. Trust is something that is earned and sometimes no matter what we do people still identify the scar left behind. I hope your work now helps us all see beyond your past.
As in my email I would like to give readers more information about you and your project but this is not enough to endorse you or the campaign. If you want to “spread the word” lets be in touch and let my blog readers get on board.