![\"Sloth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d45c8190-3eb4-4f86-ada5-e53ce4e2eb80.gif\")
Rehomed sloths attempt to make a recovery<\/p>\nPitched as an \u201cethical\u201d attraction focused on education and conservation, Sloth World was heralded as an opportunity for visitors to dial down the tempo in America\u2019s theme park capital.<\/p>\n
The planned destination in Orlando, Florida, would have given more than 40 sloths an indoor rainforest habitat in which to take life \u201cat their own slow and steady pace\u201d, supported by \u201cscience-informed care\u201d, its owners promised.<\/p>\n
Now, with at least 32 sloths dead, 12 under emergency care for severe dehydration and malnutrition, and Sloth World filing for bankruptcy, Florida\u2019s attorney-general has launched a criminal investigation.<\/p>\n
Rehomed sloths attempt to make a recovery<\/p>\n
\u201cOur office is unwavering in its commitment to pursuing justice on behalf of those who are unable to protect themselves,\u201d James Uthmeier said on Friday.<\/p>\n
Questions are also mounting, however, about how the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state regulatory agency, failed to step in.<\/p>\n
Sam Trull, co-founder and executive director of the Sloth Institute, one of the organisations that blew the whistle, said: \u201cThis is such an egregious thing that\u2019s happened and we need consequences. What\u2019s the point of a permitting or oversight body if they didn\u2019t prevent cruelty on such an extreme level like this?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sloth World slipped through gaps in the regulatory framework for importing and owning exotic species, said Dr Rebecca Cliffe, founder and director of the Sloth Conservation Foundation, which, with the institute, led the push against the attraction.<\/p>\n
The commission opened an investigation into Sloth World last year but concluded that there was \u201cno legal basis for enforcement action or closure\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey saw a bunch of sloths died and just let them import more,\u201d Trull alleged.<\/p>\n
Sloth World, on Orlando\u2019s International Drive tourist strip, was under development as an \u201cexpert-led rainforest experience for all ages\u201d where visitors could take an hour-long tour for $49 a ticket. Its website stated: \u201cWatch natural behaviors up close in a peaceful, no-contact setting designed entirely for their own comfort \u2026 Dive into fascinating facts while learning how conservation helps protect displaced sloths and the habitats they depend on.\u201d<\/p>\n
It boasted that the furry residents \u201ccome from a variety of situations across South America and beyond\u201d and could live to be 55 years old there, compared with the average eight to twelve years in the wild.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cSome arrive from regions affected by deforestation or mining,\u201d it claimed. \u201cOthers are rehomed from private individuals who can no longer care from them [sic] and some come from facilities that lack the resources or expertise to support their needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
But sloths are highly complex animals. Wrenched from their natural habitat, they rarely thrive in captivity; their chilled appearance and lack of a \u201cfight or flight\u201d mechanism belies internalised stress.<\/p>\n
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One surviving animal undergoes veterinary careCENTRAL FLORIDA ZOO<\/p>\n
Within days of arriving in Florida from Guyana in December 2024, 21 sloths died at a warehouse in Orlando owned by Sloth World\u2019s president, Benjamin Agresta, and vice-president, Peter Bandre, according to Florida\u2019s wildlife commission. Both Agresta and Bandre are exotic species importers.<\/p>\n
The facility did not have a permit for housing animals and had no heating, electricity or running water, the commission alleged. In a cold snap, plug-in heaters were run from a neighbouring building using an extension cord but the fuse tripped and temperatures fell to 8C (46F). With no one there overnight to notice, the animals died of \u201ccold stun\u201d, Bandre told an investigator from the wildlife commission.<\/p>\n
He said Agresta had told him the building was ready and that when he found out this was not the case, it was too late to cancel the shipment.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/585315cb-6f78-4674-8228-633c160287ca.gif\")
<\/p>\n
In February 2025, disease killed ten sloths imported from Peru, two of whom were dead on arrival. More are unaccounted for: records show the owners imported 61 of the animals, the commission alleged.<\/p>\n
Thirteen were handed over last week to the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition. Staff are working around the clock to save them but on Wednesday, Bandit, a sub-adult male, died. A female companion, Habanero, remains in critical condition.<\/p>\n
![\"Bandit,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0f2a4a2c-16eb-412c-9871-ddfa2f8134c7.jpg\")
Bandit, one of 13 sloths rescued from a warehouse in Orlando, died after being taken to Central Florida Zoo for careCENTRAL FLORIDA ZOO<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other 11 are stable-ish,\u201d said the zoo\u2019s director, Richard Glover. \u201cDealing with Bandit\u2019s loss \u2014 we\u2019re sad, but we don\u2019t have time to stop and grieve because we\u2019ve got 12 others to save and more than 400-plus other animals in the zoo \u2026 People are having a very hard time keeping going, but they\u2019re keeping going.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commission said that Sloth World held an import permit for the exhibition of Class III wildlife in captivity. A Class III permit, which covers sloths, requires holders to report only escapes, biting incidents and transfers, not deaths. It also requires owners to maintain inventory records, though not to submit them for inspection unless asked.<\/p>\n
The commission conducted an unannounced inspection of Sloth World\u2019s facilities in August last year, but found that the climate-control problems had been corrected and that \u201cthe owner\u2019s actions did not meet the legal standard for animal cruelty\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cDeaths relating to zoonotic disease were referred to the US Department of Agriculture and the investigation concluded without citation or written warning,\u201d Arielle Callender, a spokeswoman for the commission, told The Times. \u201cThere was no legal basis for enforcement action or closure, and while the deaths of these animals are tragic, subsequent inspections found the facility compliant with care and housing standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bandre severed his partnership with Agresta last year. Agresta told Fox 35 Orlando television channel that \u201cthere is so much false and inaccurate information out there\u201d and denied Bandre\u2019s statement that 21 sloths had died of \u201ccold stun\u201d. Agresta and Bandre did not return requests for comment from The Times.<\/p>\n
Trull said: \u201cMost people realise that it\u2019s pretty cruel and messed up to do this to another living creature and there is no place for the exotic animal industry. For a long time, it\u2019s felt like we were just shouting into a void.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pitched as an \u201cethical\u201d attraction focused on education and conservation, Sloth World was heralded as an opportunity for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255887,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-255886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}