{"id":270560,"date":"2026-05-14T07:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270560\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T07:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:18:18","slug":"florida-to-stop-sloth-imports-after-55-deaths-linked-to-failed-orlando-attraction-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/270560\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida to stop sloth imports after 55 deaths linked to failed Orlando attraction"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 State wildlife officials are moving to temporarily halt the importation of sloths into Florida following the deaths of dozens of animals tied to the failed \u201cSloth World<\/a>\u201d attraction in Orlando \u2014 a facility previously spotlighted in reporting by CBS12.<\/p>\n

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission<\/a> (FWC) said 55 sloths imported from South America died after being linked to the now-defunct exhibit. The incident has prompted a broader review of how the state regulates exotic animals like sloths.<\/p>\n

FWC Executive Director Roger Young told commissioners Wednesday in Fort Myers that the agency is preparing an executive order to pause sloth imports while it reevaluates permitting rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis very unfortunate situation resulted from one facility, Sloth World, and they’re no longer licensed. And it is not a widespread issue,\u201d Young said. \u201cStaff is on it. We look forward to working with all of the industry partners moving forward to make sure we get these rules right for the well-being of sloths.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sloths fall under Florida\u2019s Class III wildlife designation \u2014 a category that includes non-native animals such as lemurs, foxes, and certain reptiles. These permits require reporting of escapes, bites, or transfers, but notably do not require facilities to report illness or deaths \u2014 a gap now under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

FWC officials said they have contacted other facilities across the state that house sloths and found no widespread health concerns.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears that this group of sloths contracted an intestinal infection that resulted in severe, and in many cases, fatal effects,\u201d Young said.<\/p>\n

See also: Update: U.S. Coast Guard rescues 11 after plane crash off Florida’s coast<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sloth World case has drawn attention in recent months, with CBS12 previously reporting on concerns surrounding the attraction and its handling of the animals. The facility has since gone bankrupt and lost its license.<\/p>\n

Surviving sloths from the facility have been relocated to the Central Florida Zoo<\/a> and Botanical Gardens<\/a> in Sanford, where they are now being monitored.<\/p>\n

According to FWC, necropsies revealed the animals suffered from multiple serious health issues, including systemic viral infections. Tests showed the presence of gammaherpesvirus and a virus related to Changuinola virus \u2014 a pathogen typically spread by sand flies in parts of Central and South America.<\/p>\n

Officials said the sloths also showed signs of neurological, respiratory, and gastrointestinal disease, along with evidence of immune suppression.<\/p>\n

The temporary import pause and permit review could lead to tighter oversight of exotic animal facilities in Florida, particularly as state leaders weigh whether current rules are sufficient to protect animal welfare.<\/p>\n

See also: Air-1 leads teams to rescue pregnant woman, partner and 3 dogs on Florida Trail<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 State wildlife officials are moving to temporarily halt the importation of sloths into Florida…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-270560","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\/270560","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=270560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}