PHOTO BY WILLIAM PHIPPS VIA UNSPLASH.COM
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says its investigators found no evidence of neglect or abuse that would support criminal charges after 31 sloths died in two separate incidents connected to Sloth World, the now-shuttered/never-opened Orlando exotic animal attraction. FWC discussed the case publicly for the first time this week with WFTV’s 9 Investigates, with some great reporting by Shannon Butler and Brody Wooddell.
As confirmed by FWC, 21 sloths died in December 2024 shortly after arriving at a facility that wasn’t properly prepared to house them, with the business relying on multiple space heaters to keep the animals warm. Ten more sloths died in February 2025, with two arriving already dead and eight described as emaciated on arrival. The sloths had been shipped to the U.S. from Guyana and Peru.
FWC has said the deaths were attributed to “cold stun” or “poor health,” findings that Sloth World owner Ben Agresta has previously disputed. Agresta has said the sloths instead died from a virus that showed few symptoms and wasn’t detectable even after necropsy.
FWC leadership maintains that by the time investigators became directly involved, the animals had already died and there was little the agency could do at that point, characterizing the issue as one of timing and existing law rather than agency inaction. The agency’s first inspection of the warehouse didn’t happen until August 2025, roughly eight months after the first sloths died, and only after an employee discovered no active exotic animal permits were on file for Agresta, Sloth World or the Orlando address where the attraction was being built. That inspection resulted in only a verbal warning, tied to two sloths being kept in undersized cages and a lack of recordkeeping. FWC noted that Class III permit holders like Sloth World are required to maintain accurate animal inventory records, but aren’t required to report animal deaths to the agency.
The case has drawn sustained criticism since April, when Inside Climate News first reported the deaths and obtained internal FWC emails showing the agency was aware of concerns well before its inspection but took little direct action beforehand. State Rep. Anna Eskamani has publicly called the situation “willful neglect,” and Orange County commissioners and international sloth experts have pushed for stronger oversight of exotic animal imports and reporting requirements in Florida.
The fallout has also drawn in law enforcement beyond FWC. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it opened its own investigation into the case, and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office said in an April letter that it was assisting the Ninth Judicial Circuit with a separate criminal probe into Sloth World.
Almost immediately following the initial headlines, Sloth World shut down, and 13 surviving sloths were transferred to the Central Florida Zoo, where three later died. The zoo is working with the Species Survival Plan Program to place them at other accredited facilities once they’re stable, which could take some time as wild sloths have a notoriously hard time adjusting to captivity due to their sensitive natures.
FWC said it has since changed its internal policies in response to the case. Sloths were previously allowed into Florida under a blanket import permit that only required notifying the state after animals had already arrived; under the new policy, importers must give advance notice, allowing inspectors to review facilities before sloths are brought into the state. FWC officials said the agency’s authority is limited to oversight once exotic animals are already in Florida, and that broader authority over the imports themselves rests with federal agencies.
