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Florida wildlife officials signed an executive order on Wednesday to temporarily ban the importation of sloths following dozens of animal deaths at an Orlando facility.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) executive director Col. Roger Young said the planned attraction, Sloth World, has relinquished all of its permits after a fatal intestinal infection swept through its animals.
Young confirmed the outbreak is isolated to Sloth World and said inspections of other Class III wildlife facilities in Florida found no widespread issues.
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The crackdown comes after Sloth World imported at least 69 wild-caught sloths for a planned “Slotharium” exhibit, according to the Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo).
At least 31 of the sloths died before the facility opened to the public and roughly 24 sloths remain unaccounted for.
Following Sloth World’s closure, 13 surviving sloths were relocated to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens on April 24 for emergency veterinary treatment.
Three of the sloths that arrived in the most critical condition — Bandit, Habanero and Dumpling — have since died, according to the zoo.
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Necropsy reports confirmed the primary cause of death for the animals was severe emaciation, with Bandit also suffering from abnormal fluid accumulation in his body.
The youngest and smallest of the rescued group, a sloth named Mr. Ginger, remains in critical condition in intensive care.
Zoo veterinary staff are working around the clock to save the remaining sloths and recently received a special shipment of fecal samples from healthy sloths at the Los Angeles Zoo to help restore the gut microbiome of the sick animals.
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SloCo officials said the surviving sloths can never be released back into the wild because their exact origins are unknown. Returning the animals could carry genetic risks to wild populations and the potential of introducing foreign pathogens.
Since sloths have lifespans of over 50 years, the organization said survivors now face a lifetime in human care at accredited Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) facilities.
Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Democratic Florida State Rep. Dr. Anna Eskamani visited the Central Florida Zoo to meet with conservationists and discuss overhauling the permitting and importation of exotic animals.
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Florida’s temporary 60-day pause on imports will likely have national implications, as roughly 98% of sloths imported into the U.S. enter through Miami.
Wildlife advocacy groups, including The Sloth Institute (TSI), SloCo and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), urged officials to take the executive order further, pushing for permanent federal protections.
“Sloth World is an egregious example of the damaging effects of the sloth trade on the welfare and conservation of sloths,” TSI Co-Founder Sam Trull wrote in a statement provided to FOX Business.
Rebecca Cliffe, founder of SloCo, added the tragedy has “pulled back the curtain on an industry that is extremely dark and damaging.”
“Why did Sloth World not have to declare the deaths of the sloths in their care?” Cliffe said. “Why was all of this legally able to happen?”
PETA submitted a complaint April 30 to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement calling for a cruelty investigation into Sloth World co-owners Peter Bandre and Benjamin Agresta.
PETA spokesperson Cydnee Bence told FOX Business the sloths were “snatched from their rainforest homes, endure[d] a terrifying journey, [and] were left to die in a barren warehouse.”
“There’s no excuse for tearing animals out of their wild homes just so humans can harass them,” Bence said. “… With Sloth World in particular, it was a mass death by greed. Being confined in a totally unsuitable storage unit, just to be used in a roadside zoo is egregious.
“PETA is definitely looking forward to seeing Bandre and Agresta being held accountable for their actions and urges everyone to steer clear of any facility that uses wild animals as photo ops.”
The FWC, Sloth World and Central Florida Zoo did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ requests for comment.
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