Christopher Robert Porter (born September 27, 1970) is a Canadian political activist and was the biggest buyer and seller of
dolphins
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (t ...
in the world.
He was the leader of the small
Canadian Action Party
The Canadian Action Party (CAP) (french: Parti action canadienne, PAC) was a Canadian federal political party founded in 1997 and deregistered on 31 March 2017.
The party stood for Canadian nationalism, monetary and electoral reform, and opposed ...
between 2010 and 2012
and was a candidate in the
federal by-election in
Toronto—Danforth
Toronto—Danforth (formerly Broadview—Greenwood) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. It lies to the east of Downtown Toronto. Its best-known MP was N ...
. He lost the election to
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
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candidate
Craig Scott. Porter
received 75 votes.
From 2003 to 2009 he sold 83 dolphins around the world. In late 2009, he stated that he was leaving the dolphin-export business to become an environmental activist. In March 2010, Porter said that he had decided to release his last 17 dolphins back into the wild
however the majority were not released, and died in captivity.
Past work
During the 1990s, Porter worked at
Sealand of the Pacific
Sealand of the Pacific was a public aquarium in South Oak Bay at The Oak Bay Marina, near the city of Victoria, in British Columbia, Canada. It housed a number of orcas: Haida, Nootka, and Tilikum. In 1991, all three were involved in an inciden ...
, where he trained
Tilikum Tillicum or Tilikum is a word in Chinook Jargon that means people, family, tribe, and relatives, and may refer to:
Places
* Tilikum Crossing, a bridge in Portland, Oregon
* Tillicum, Lakewood, a neighborhood in Lakewood, Washington
** Tillicum s ...
the
killer whale
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...
. Later, he worked at the
Vancouver Aquarium
The Vancouver Aquarium is a public aquarium located in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Vancouver, the aquarium is a centre for marine research, ocean literacy education, cl ...
where he was the head trainer.
He was a consultant for Italy's national aquarium,
Aquarium of Genoa
The Aquarium of Genoa ( it, Acquario di Genova) is the largest aquarium in Italy. Located in the Old Harbour area of Genoa, Italy, the aquarium is a member organization of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), and welcomes more t ...
, prior to his work in the Solomon Islands. During 2005 he created the world's first open ocean dive program with sea lions in
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coas ...
, Netherlands Antilles.
Dolphin resort and export business
In 2003 Porter established a resort business to be funded by dolphin exports in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its ca ...
where he leased
Gavutu
Gavutu is a small islet in the Central Province of the Solomon Islands, some in length. It is one of the Nggela Islands.
History
The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by the Spanish expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña on 16 April 1568. Mor ...
Island, a World War II Japanese seaplane base.
In 2005, Dave Phillips, executive director of th
Earth Island Institutedescribed Porter's captures of dolphins as 'horrific' and the 'worst instance of capture for dolphin trafficking in the world'.
Campaigners in 2005 sought to free dolphins held at the resort run by Porter, describing them as "depressed". Porter's associate replied that the claims were lies and government health inspections had assessed the animals as being free from disease and infection.
Free the Pod
In 2010, Porter started the 'Free the Pod' campaign, aiming to release captive dolphins back into the wild. He has said he was "disillusioned with the industry", due to the death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in an incident with
Tillikum and the documentary ''
The Cove''.
Dave Phillips and Earth Island Institute accepted Porter's invitation to join with him for Free the Pod, which was featured in Animal Planet's ''Blood Dolphin$'' series.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Christopher
1970 births
Canadian Action Party politicians
Canadian environmentalists
Leaders of political parties in Canada
Living people
Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia