Five-point reform package submitted to state wildlife regulators follows mass die-off of imported sloths in Florida
ORLANDO, Fla. — State Representative Dr. Anna V. Eskamani (House District 42) today announced that she and the Sloth Protection Alliance have formally submitted a set of recommended policy changes to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), urging the agency to close longstanding gaps in how the state regulates the import, sale, exhibition, and private ownership of sloths.
The proposals come in the wake of the “Sloth World” case, in which a large number of wild-caught sloths imported into Florida died in a short period. Of the 76 sloths brought in for the facility, 56 are confirmed dead, only 9 are confirmed alive at the Central Florida Zoo, and 11 remain of unknown status. The Alliance, a collaboration between the Sloth Conservation Foundation and The Sloth Institute, argues that the scale of those deaths exposed a regulatory system that was unable to detect serious welfare problems until it was too late.
“The Sloth World deaths weren’t a one-off failure — they were a warning about a system that simply isn’t built to protect these animals,” said Rep. Eskamani. “Sloths are classified under a framework designed around public safety, but the real risk here is welfare. These are fragile, highly specialized animals that hide their suffering until it’s often irreversible. Florida can and should do better, and these recommendations give FWC a clear, practical path forward.”
Under Florida’s current system, sloths are classified as Class III wildlife. That framework does not require demonstrated competency in sloth husbandry before acquisition, does not mandate pre-acquisition facility inspections, and does not require mortality reporting, leaving regulators with little ability to track outcomes or catch problems early.
The Recommended Reforms
The Alliance and Rep. Eskamani are asking FWC to adopt five changes. You can read the full recommendations here.
- Ban the importation of wild-caught sloths into Florida, with narrow exceptions only for facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) or equivalent institutions, operating with the approval of the Sloth Species Survival Plan (SSP).
- Create a specialized regulatory category for sloths — or, at a minimum, uplist them from Class III to a more closely regulated classification that reflects their complex welfare needs.
- Require mandatory mortality and transfer reporting for all sloth deaths, transfers, sales, and births, so regulators can assess welfare outcomes and detect systemic problems.
- Prohibit direct-contact “sloth encounter” experiences, including holding and petting, which create chronic stress and drive continued commercial demand. Educational viewing and no-contact feeding would remain permissible.
- Close the “captive-bred” loophole by ensuring that sloths born to females imported while pregnant are not automatically counted as captive-bred — a gap that currently allows offspring of wild-caught animals to be sold while obscuring their true origin.
The proposed reforms would also establish husbandry competency requirements, mandatory facility inspections, written veterinary care plans, minimum environmental standards, comprehensive record-keeping, and permanent individual identification so that animals cannot disappear from regulatory oversight after a sale or transfer.
Why Sloths Require Specialized Oversight
Sloths are highly specialized rainforest mammals that are difficult to keep healthy in captivity. They mask signs of stress and illness, depend on a highly specialized diet and gut microbiome, and require narrow temperature and humidity ranges to survive. Even in the best-accredited facilities, captive sloths live an estimated 13–20 years, compared with 50 or more years in the wild.
The Sloth Protection Alliance has offered to provide FWC with guidance and training materials to help the agency develop species-specific inspection protocols and welfare standards.
About the Sloth Protection Alliance
The Sloth Protection Alliance is a collaborative initiative formed by the Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo) and The Sloth Institute (TSI). Together, the organizations have spent decades studying, rescuing, rehabilitating, and protecting sloths in the wild. Since January 2026, they have worked alongside investigators, journalists, lawmakers, veterinarians, and policy experts to examine the commercial sloth trade and advocate for reform.