Press Release | Sloth Protection Alliance Questions Finding of No Criminal Neglect After 57 Sloth Deaths

Under Florida law, animal cruelty is not limited to deliberately harming an animal. Florida Statute 828.12 states that a person who has custody or control of an animal and “fails to act,” resulting in a cruel death or the excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering, can commit aggravated animal cruelty.

Following OCSO’s announcement that it found no evidence of criminal activity, The Sloth Conservation Foundation’s Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Rebecca Cliffe, says she is struggling to understand how the documented treatment and suffering of these animals could possibly fall outside that definition.

The Alliance believes there are multiple serious and documented reasons why this case warranted consideration under Florida’s animal cruelty laws.

1. Twenty-one tropical sloths were housed in a warehouse that was not ready to receive them

According to evidence documented in the investigation, the facility did not have permanent electricity or running water when the animals arrived. Heat was being provided using space heaters connected by extension cords to another building.

Those heaters repeatedly tripped the electrical breaker and shut off. During a cold-weather event, the sloths were left without adequate heat for hours while temperatures fell into the 40s Fahrenheit.

Sloths are tropical mammals with an extremely limited ability to regulate their own body temperature. All 21 animals subsequently died.

2. Nobody was present overnight to intervene

The sloths were left unattended overnight while their survival depended upon an improvised heating system known to repeatedly fail.

The Alliance believes that leaving highly temperature-sensitive tropical animals unattended under these conditions exposed them to avoidable suffering and a foreseeable risk of serious harm.

3. Sloths were housed together despite the risk of aggression

Multiple sloths were housed together despite sloths being solitary animals.

Unfamiliar wild adult sloths should not be housed together without careful management because of the risk of aggression. Records reviewed in connection with the case document serious traumatic injuries consistent with fighting between animals.

4. Veterinary records document extensive suffering

Veterinary and necropsy records associated with the mortality events document severe diarrhea, pneumonia, dehydration, anorexia, gastrointestinal dysfunction, neurological abnormalities, dangerously low body temperatures, weakness, traumatic injuries and systemic illness.

These animals were not simply “diseased.” Their condition and the severity of their symptoms must also be considered in the context of the care, treatment, monitoring and husbandry they received. Appropriate veterinary intervention and species-specific husbandry are critical to preventing further deterioration and minimizing suffering, particularly in animals already compromised by disease, stress or transport.

5. Animals continued to be exposed despite evidence of a possible infectious disease outbreak

OCSO’s report discusses infectious disease as one of the major potential contributors to the mass mortalities. If infectious disease contributed substantially to these deaths, the Alliance believes serious questions must also be asked about whether adequate quarantine, disease screening and biosecurity measures were implemented to prevent transmission between animals.

Continuing to expose vulnerable animals to a population experiencing unexplained mass mortality created a foreseeable risk of further illness and suffering.

6. Wild sloths continued to be acquired as animals became sick and died

The deaths did not result from one isolated event involving a single animal. Despite repeated mortality and serious illness, additional wild-caught sloths continued to enter the operation.

The investigative report itself documents concerns raised by AZA Sloth Species Survival Plan coordinator Debra Dial, who told investigators that she did not understand why Sloth World had been permitted to continue importing additional sloths after losing so many animals.

7. The surviving animals ultimately required intensive veterinary care

When the remaining sloths were surrendered and transferred to the Central Florida Zoo, veterinary staff reported that the majority arrived in extremely poor condition.

Animals presented with problems including dehydration, low body condition and severe gastrointestinal disease. Several required intensive veterinary intervention, and additional animals subsequently died.

All four sloths that died after their transfer to the zoo were confirmed to be emaciated.