Elected officials at the local, state and federal level are calling for legal changes to better protect animal welfare following the news of dozens of animal deaths tied to a canceled Sloth World attraction that was previously planned for Orlando’s International Drive.
Sloth World’s owners arranged for the capture and import of at least 61 sloths from their jungle habitats in South America, according to state records. At least 34 of those sloths have died, but conservationists fear the true death toll may be higher.
Two leading sloth scientists based in Costa Rica traveled to Central Florida this week to join lawmakers in pushing for change.
RELATED: Brought to Orlando for 'Sloth World,' wild sloths died by the dozens
Slow, sensitive sloths
Rebecca Cliffe with The Sloth Conservation Foundation and Sam Trull with The Sloth Institute have each spent more than a decade researching and working with the highly sensitive mammal species. Sloths depend on a very specific diet of fresh rainforest leaves in order to survive, and their slow metabolisms often delay diagnosis of medical issues until those issues become very severe.
Trull said it can take a month for a sloth to digest a single meal. “They actually have the slowest metabolism, outside of hibernation, of any mammal,” she said Wednesday at a press conference held outside the building on I-Drive previously slated for the Sloth World exhibit.
Chronic health problems often appear in captive sloths, primarily because the animals aren’t getting the right diet, Cliffe said.
“Sloths need to eat fresh leaves from the rainforest. They've evolved over 30 million years to have that diet,” Cliffe said. “You can't replicate that here in Orlando, or anywhere in the United States.”
In Costa Rica, Trull said the Sloth Institute’s work is primarily focused on rehabilitating sick or injured sloths until they’re healthy enough to be released back into the wild. It is no easy task.
“We have one whole person whose entire job is to collect leaves for the sloths, all day,” Trull said in an interview with Central Florida Public Media last week.
“The math isn’t math-ing”
There is no longer a sign with the words “Sloth World” on the front of the building on I-Drive where up-close sloth encounters were once planned. But a giant sloth face on the front of the building still grins down at Orlando’s busy tourism district.
Cliffe and Trull stood beneath the sign Wednesday, taking questions from reporters and making the case for their primary goal: a ban on the import of wild-caught sloths for commercial and private ownership purposes. The sloth scientists were joined by State Rep. Anna Eskamani and Orange County Commissioners Nicole Wilson and Mike Scott.
“We will continue pushing for that change for as long as it takes,” Cliffe said. “We're also calling for stronger protections more broadly: including a review of how sloths are currently classified, an end to hands-on sloth encounter experiences and full transparency when animals die in these facilities.”
Sloth World’s owners imported 61 sloths from South America, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. State records document the deaths of at least 31 of those sloths, and three sloths taken in by the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens also recently died.
RELATED: Third animal from Sloth World dies, leaving behind 10 sloths at Central Florida Zoo
But Eskamani said there are concerns that some sloths remain unaccounted for.
“The math isn’t math-ing,” Eskamani said.
Cliffe echoed that sense of confusion surrounding records about the imported sloths.
“The recordkeeping has been a complete mess,” Cliffe said. “We've seen all the import records, and they don't add up.”
Patching up legal ‘loopholes’
Sloth World’s owners were legally permitted by the state to possess captive wildlife, meaning they were allowed to import sloths. But permitholders aren’t required to report animal illness or death to the state, according to FWC. Eskamani said that needs to change.
“If an animal dies under a Class III [wildlife] permit, that should be reported and made public. And a permit should not be renewed … when that death is still being investigated,” Eskamani said.
Eskamani said she would also support a ban on the import of wild animals for commercial use. Miami is by far the biggest gateway for live sloth shipments into the U.S., according to research published by The Sloth Institute.
“We have a great opportunity right here in Florida to slow down that importation and to ban it completely,” Eskamani said.
At the local level, Wilson said, permitting regulations blocked county code enforcement staff from gaining entry to the warehouse where animals for Sloth World were being kept, just a few doors down from the planned attraction.
“I'm working — today, tomorrow, in coming days — to make sure that we close that gap, and provide them the authorization necessary in order to be able to gain entry, if there's evidence of this type of animal cruelty inside,” Wilson said.
Congressman Maxwell Frost, who represents Orlando, joined Eskamani and the sloth scientists in a call to fix legal “loopholes” at the federal level could help protect animals in the future.
“Right now, you don't need a permit from the federal government until your facility is open. That is a loophole,” Frost said.
Although Sloth World’s owners had been working to get a permit for a public animal exhibition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, they had not yet obtained one. “We obviously advocated for that permit to be denied,” Frost said.
“My hope is that this tragic situation, at a minimum, can lead to us ensuring that we pass legislation, [and that] we work with USDA to patch these loopholes, to ensure that money isn't put over the welfare of animals again.”
State Attorney General James Uthmeier has said a criminal investigation is ongoing into Sloth World’s owners.
Eskamani said she spoke Wednesday with State Attorney Monique Worrell, who confirmed both the Orlando Police Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Office have committed to assisting within each of their respective jurisdictions on an investigation into Sloth World’s owners.
The building planned for the public-facing Sloth World exhibit sits within city limits on I-Drive. The warehouse where sloths died is a few blocks away, within unincorporated Orange County.
“We're gonna not stop fighting until it [an investigation] happens,” Eskamani said. “I mean, I need folks to be under oath, and to answer direct questions. That is what I'm looking for.”
