The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday issued a temporary ban on importing sloths into the state, following public outcry that arose over dozens of animal deaths connected to Sloth World, a now-canceled attraction previously planned in Orlando. The executive order setting a 60-day ban took effect immediately, expiring on July 10.
At least 55 sloths imported for the canceled Sloth World exhibit died between late 2024 and this month, according to records and necropsy reports reviewed by Central Florida Public Media.
Currently, 10 sloths imported for the exhibit remain alive and under close medical supervision at the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Sanford, a facility accredited by the American Association of Zoos & Aquariums. The animals are all in intensive care, with one baby sloth, Mr. Ginger, in very critical condition, according to the zoo.
When the zoo took in 13 animals from Sloth World on April 24, none of them arrived in good shape. Four, including Mr. Ginger, arrived in especially critical condition.
Three of those sloths that came to the zoo in especially critical condition later died. Since then, the zoo’s animal care teams have been working around the clock to try and save the rest.
Lead zoo veterinarian James Bogan described the situation as “touch and go.”
“We could lose every single one of them. We’re optimistic that we’re not going to,” Bogan said.
Sloth count discrepancies
Records from FWC, the zoo and necropsy reports show at least 55 sloths imported for Sloth World died, either in transit or after arriving in Florida. Three of those sloth deaths happened at the zoo.
“[All 13] came in with quite a few things wrong with them,” said zoo CEO Richard Glover.
But conservationists fear the true death count may be even higher, given apparent recordkeeping discrepancies.
Sloth World imported 61 sloths between December 2024 and March of this year, according to FWC. But based on that total, only six sloths should still be left alive, after accounting for the 55 known deaths.
In reality, 10 sloths remain alive at the zoo, raising questions for sloth scientists about how many animals were truly imported for the exhibit planned on International Drive.
“This blows my mind. The recordkeeping has been a complete mess,” said Rebecca Cliffe, director and founder of The Sloth Conservation Foundation in Costa Rica. “We've seen all the import records, and they don't add up. There's duplicates in there; there's all sorts going on.”
Cliffe is one of two leading sloth experts who traveled to Central Florida last week to push for stronger animal welfare protections at the state level and beyond. She and Sam Trull, co-founder and director of The Sloth Institute, met with lawmakers, state prosecutors and FWC staff.
RELATED: Sloth experts, elected officials push for change to better protect animal welfare
The temporary ban — and what’s next
FWC’s temporary ban on the import of sloths follows Monday’s virtual meeting between some agency staff, the sloth experts and Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani.
“I am pleased to share that FWC has committed to convening a task force to pursue rulemaking changes to prevent this tragedy from ever happening again,” she said in a statement. “There are still specifics to confirm, but we plan to share policy recommendations with FWC immediately and will work in good faith for the health and well-being of sloths statewide, so that permit rules are updated before the end of the year.”
Sloth World’s owners had Class III Captive Wildlife permits allowing them to legally possess the sloths. No rule or law requires permitholders to report animal illness or death to FWC. Eskamani wants to see that changed. The temporary executive order does require current permittees with sloths to report "severe illness" to the agency.
Central Florida Public Media has attempted unsuccessfully to reach Sloth World’s owners for comment.
Rulemaking would be a quicker way to implement more permanent protections for sloths and other vulnerable animal species, compared to going through the legislative process, Eskamani said during a virtual press conference Wednesday. Ultimately, she said she wants to use both avenues to strengthen animal welfare regulations in Florida — and, hopefully, inspire other places to take action as well.
“Florida making this decision will send a ripple effect across the country,” Eskamani said. “And we're hopeful that the pause will also give us the opportunity to craft really intentional rulemaking changes.”
Trull, calling into Wednesday’s press conference from a plane about to take off from Costa Rica, struggled to hold back tears of joy as she spoke.
“I honestly am trying not to cry, because I'm really happy that change is actually being made,” Trull said. “I know it's a temporary order, but it's such a huge step.”
Research published by the Sloth Institute shows the vast majority of live sloth imports come into the United States through the Port of Miami.
“I now expect that if we're closing down the Port of Miami for sloth imports, at least temporarily, they're probably going to come in elsewhere,” Cliffe said. “So that's why we're going to work on a federal level as well.”
What killed the sloths?
Necropsy reports from several sloths show the presence of systemic viral infections, according to FWC, citing the agency’s consultation with a veterinarian who reviewed the necropsies.
But the story doesn’t stop there, according to the sloth experts. Cliffe said such infections don’t occur in “a normal, wild, healthy sloth.”
“It's happening because they're chronically stressed. They're being fed a bad diet. Their immune systems are weakened, and everything is sort of fed into that situation,” Cliffe said. “[An infection] might have been the ultimate cause of death, but what led to that? The fact is that those sloths weren't being properly cared for.”
A necropsy report for Bandit, the first sloth that died at the zoo, showed “prolonged emaciation”: basically, poor fat reserves, according to Bogan, the zoo’s lead vet. Additional tests for infectious disease and toxins are still pending.
The Sloth Institute's lead vet published an analysis of some of the necropsies. It found the “mass mortality event” highlights the “critical gaps in knowledge” Sloth World’s owners had about how to take care of the animals, meaning the “standard of care for captive sloths wasn’t met.”
“The evidence demonstrates that inadequate husbandry practices, including housing territorial males together, transporting clinically compromised individuals, and failing to mitigate environmental stressors, significantly increased morbidity and mortality,” according to the analysis.
