Orange County is joining the effort as federal lawmakers and state wildlife officials seek changes in the aftermath of more than 50 animal deaths tied to Orlando's canceled Sloth World attraction.
But the Florida Constitution limits what the county can do.
The County Commission so far is looking into zoning definitions for businesses that exhibit wildlife or store wild animals, generally without changing current restrictions. The county staff say Orange County can't create rules for handling or importing wildlife.
The state has to do that.
County Commissioner Nicole Wilson has pushed for the county to act to prevent another Sloth World. In that case, scores of sloths brought to the Orlando area for the proposed attraction died in transit or at a warehouse in Orange County.
At a meeting Tuesday, Wilson urged her fellow commissioners to make sloths part of their lobbying efforts. She cited public concern and a negative effect on tourism.
"I think it's something that is significant," she said, "when you think about the reputation of Orange County and Orlando in the tourism corridor. Costa Rica now thinks of us as the place where sloths go to die, and that's not the way we want to be known."
Wilson also hopes to do more through zoning.
"I think we know where these things are going to open," she said, "and prohibitions about the commercial exploitation for entertainment purposes language can be as clear as that, so long as we also articulate that nothing in this section ... should be construed to regulate wildlife."
The Sloth World case drew public outrage and focused attention on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's oversight and its rules for importing and possessing wild sloths. Experts say the animals require special conditions and diet and are highly sensitive to stress.
In Florida, sloths are classified with most non-native wild species as Class III wildlife, because they do not pose a danger to the public. They did not have special protections related to their particular vulnerabilities.
Now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering rule changes to better protect them, though experts say they don’t go far enough.
And two Florida members of Congress -- Maxwell Frost, D-Orlando, and Laurel Lee, R-Hillsborough County, have filed the SLOTHS Act to create a federal ban on importing wild sloths, with exceptions for research and conservation-focused breeding programs at accredited institutions.
