The permit process required for importing sloths into Florida is about to change, according to a memo from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s temporary ban on sloth imports is in place through July 10. Once it expires, sloths will no longer be covered under Florida\u2019s \u201cblanket import permit\u201d for certain types of wildlife intended for sale or display.<\/p>\n
Instead, \u201call entities who are properly permitted to possess sloth species will be required to obtain a no cost Wildlife Importation Permit prior to the importation of sloth(s) into Florida,\u201d according to the memo issued Friday<\/a> to captive wildlife permittees.<\/p>\n RELATED: Florida temporarily halts import of sloths into state, following animal deaths<\/a><\/p>\n In Florida, two different types of permits<\/a> authorize the importation of nonnative wildlife.<\/p>\n If someone has a permit to keep Class III Wildlife for commercial use (known as an ESC permit) and a permanent facility address in Florida, they can apply for a blanket Class III Import Permit. The blanket permit authorizes wildlife imports throughout the duration of the year-long ESC permit, meaning the ESC permitholder only needs to get one import permit per year.<\/p>\n Up until now, sloths were covered by that \u201cblanket import permit.\u201d But after July 10, they won\u2019t be.<\/p>\n Moving forward, importing sloths to Florida will instead require a one-time Wildlife Importation Permit, which authorizes a single importation event. Applicants\u2019 wildlife facilities and transport caging are subject to inspection by FWC as required by state law, according to the permit application<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Florida, sloths are considered Class III wildlife<\/a>. That category includes any non-domesticated animal that isn\u2019t classified in another category (the other categories are Class I<\/a>, Class II<\/a>, Conditional<\/a> and Prohibited<\/a>). \u201cThere is no formal list of Class III species due to the large volume of species which are categorized as Class III,\u201d according to FWC, but some examples include exotic birds, skunks, lemurs and many reptiles, plus all amphibian species.<\/p>\n Sam Trull with the Sloth Institute said in an interview with Central Florida Public Media that, while she\u2019s celebrating the news, still plenty more work lies ahead to ensure better protection for sloths.<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely think it’s a really good first step, but I don’t think it’s enough to fully protect sloths in Florida or in the U.S,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Trull is one of two sloth experts urging Florida to enact specific changes to better protect the vulnerable rainforest species, following the deaths of at least 57 animals tied to the failed Sloth World exhibit previously planned in Orlando. Among the changes they seek is a permanent, federal ban on the import of sloths into the U.S.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still want to see a permanent ban on importing sloths,\u201d Trull said. \u201cBut I think even with this step [the permitting change], it’s really going to come down to how it’s enforced.\u201d<\/p>\n Most sloths imported to the U.S. enter the Port of Miami, according to Sloth Institute research<\/a>.<\/p>\n