(Orlando, FL) - Florida lawmakers and conservationists are calling for accountability and reform after dozens of sloths died while in the care of the Orlando Sloth World attraction.
Sloth World was formerly planned for I-Drive offering an up-close experience with the mammals imported from Costa Rica.
State Rep. Anna Eskamani says, "There's no reason to steal an animal from the wild and bring it into the state of Florida."
To date, 55-sloths imported from Central American tropical forests have died while in the care of Sloth World.
Eskamani says, currently sloths are considered property and don't have rights something she hopes the legislature will address.
And she is demanding criminal animal abuse charges be brought in the sloth deaths, "Someone must be held accountable."
Dr. Rebecca Cliffe, director of The Sloth Conservation Foundation, says, "These sloths were kept in cages in a dark warehouse, suffering from gastrointestinal issues and died in their own diarrhea. It was allowed to happen over and over. That's abuse." according to Cliffe.
The FWC denies this is a case of animal abuse, but the veterinarian caring for the sloths admits that she was only trained in treating cats and dogs.
"Since January 2026, the Sloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo) and The Sloth Institute (TSI), non-profit organizations based in Costa Rica, have been running a campaign regarding Sloth World Orlando, a facility in Florida that has imported at least 69 wild-caught sloths for display in a proposed “Slotharium” exhibit."