Nearly 30 sloths died at a Florida animal import warehouse in 2024 and 2025, sparking outrage and calls for a federal investigation. The deaths, attributed to cold temperatures, poor health, and systemic stress, have raised concerns about animal welfare and regulatory oversight.
The facility, known as Sanctuary World Imports and later renamed Sloth World Inc., was the site of mass sloth deaths over a period of several months, according to multiple reports. Congressman Maxwell Frost has called for a federal investigation into the deaths, citing the scale and nature of the incidents.
Recent transportation stress
In December 2024, 21 sloths from Guyana died due to cold temperatures, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission inspection report. The report detailed that the warehouse had no running water, no electricity, and space heaters that repeatedly tripped the fuse. At least one night that month, the sloths were left alone in the cold warehouse without heat, the commission reported.
In February 2025, 10 sloths arrived from Peru; two were dead on arrival and the rest died of poor health, according to a state report. The company kept importing more sloths and deaths continued, as per later state government necropsy reports. The pattern of neglect and repeated importation despite fatalities has drawn sharp criticism from animal welfare advocates.
Rapid onset of multiple deaths at this facility.
Necropsy reports revealed disturbing findings. One report described a bloated nine-month-old baby sloth named Kiwi weighing less than 3 pounds. Viruses including a 'novel two-toed sloth gammaherpesvirus' were found in the warehouse, according to necropsy reports and internal company emails. A necropsy on a sloth named Selma noted 'recent transportation stress' and the gammaherpesvirus. Another necropsy report noted the 'rapid onset of multiple deaths at this facility.' Systemic stress acted as a definitive catalyst for the deaths, according to a review by Ana María Villada Rosales. She explained that the intense physiological strain of international transit, diet change, and wild capture likely suppressed their immune systems.
Little is known about the treatment of the gammaherpesvirus, according to a necropsy record. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is aware of the viral spread and working with Sloth World to investigate, the department said. It remains unclear what specific legal or regulatory actions will be taken against Sloth World, and the exact cause of death for each sloth, including how much the gammaherpesvirus contributed, has not been determined. The owner or operator of Sloth World and their history with animal imports are also not publicly known. The status of the federal investigation requested by Congressman Frost is pending.
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