Florida Halts Sloth World After 31 Wild Sloths Die in Transit and Warehouse

Thirty-one wild sloths imported for a planned Orlando attraction called Sloth World died in transit and in a nearby warehouse between December 2024 and February 2025, prompting a state investigation, a county stop‑work order and calls in Congress for a federal probe bbc +1. The company’s owner has since said the “slotharium” will not open and that he may seek bankruptcy protection nytimes.

According to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) incident report released this week, 21 sloths flown in from Guyana on 18 December 2024 died after being kept in an Orlando‑area warehouse that lacked power and running water during a cold snap, with temperatures dropping to about 46°F (7°C) bbc +2. Ten more sloths imported from Peru in February 2025 fared no better: two arrived dead and the remaining eight, described as emaciated or ill, later died under the company’s care bbc +1. FWC investigators discovered the deaths during an unannounced inspection in August 2025, months after they occurred, when six surviving sloths remained at the warehouse fox35orlando +1.

How the Sloths Died — And What Investigators Found

FWC’s report attributed the Guyana shipment deaths to “cold stun,” a condition in which sloths, unable to regulate body temperature effectively, succumb when exposed to sustained low temperatures without adequate heating bbc +1. Conservation biologists noted that sloths are acutely vulnerable to cold stress; when their core temperature drops, “they basically shut down,” said one expert cited in local coverage theguardian. The warehouse where they were held had been approved as a holding facility but reportedly lacked functioning utilities at the time bbc +2.

For the Peru shipment, necropsy records cited in news reports documented viral infections in some animals, including a novel two‑toed sloth gammaherpesvirus, suggesting disease also played a role in the mass deaths insideclimatenews. Sloth World’s owner, Ben Agresta, has disputed the state’s account, insisting the animals died from a largely undetectable virus and denying that they were left in dangerously cold, substandard conditions nytimes +1. FWC closed its case without fines or permit revocation, issuing only a verbal warning over cage‑size violations, saying it found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing under Florida law fox35orlando +1.

A Spotlight on the Exotic Sloth Trade and Regulatory Gaps

The revelations intensified scrutiny of the booming U.S. trade in wild‑caught sloths for petting zoos, selfies and niche attractions. Advocacy groups say federal data show more than 1,000 sloths imported into the United States over the past decade, with the vast majority taken from the wild in countries such as Guyana and Peru nbcnews +1. “Sloth World is an egregious example of the damaging effects of the sloth trade,” said Sam Trull of The Sloth Institute, which has campaigned against such imports insideclimatenews. Two‑toed sloths are now subject to tighter international trade rules adopted under the CITES treaty in 2025 amid mounting concern over welfare and conservation impacts insideclimatenews.

The case also exposed holes in oversight. Florida did not require Sloth World to report the deaths to FWC, leaving the fatalities undisclosed until inspectors arrived months later fox35orlando +1. While the U.S. Department of Agriculture licenses animal exhibitors under the Animal Welfare Act and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees import permits, enforcement of standards and coordination with state agencies have long been criticized as uneven insideclimatenews. U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat whose district includes Orlando, said he was “appalled” and has asked federal regulators to investigate Sloth World and the broader trade fox35orlando +1. Meanwhile, 13 surviving sloths have been transferred into quarantine at the accredited Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Sanford for long‑term care fox35orlando +1.

The Bigger Picture

The shuttering of Sloth World before it sold a single ticket underscored how quickly demand for up‑close wildlife experiences can collide with the biological limits of sensitive species and a patchwork regulatory system. As lawmakers weigh tighter reporting and permitting rules and conservation bodies move to restrict trade, the deaths of 31 sloths in a Florida warehouse have become a test case for whether the U.S. will curb roadside wildlife attractions that rely on wild‑caught animals — or continue to rely on after‑the‑fact outrage to reveal what happens behind closed doors.