Florida Opens Criminal Probe Into Sloth World After Dozens of Animal Deaths
Key takeaways
- In a letter released Friday, Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed his office is assisting the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida in a probe into Sloth World.
- The highly sensitive, tree-dwelling animals from the rainforests of Peru and Guyana were kept in a warehouse while Sloth World’s tourist attraction facility was under construction.
- The facility’s owner, Benjamin Agresta, initially called government records documenting the deaths “completely fiction,” and later blamed the deaths on a virus.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
Republish Most Popular Nearly One-Fifth of Americans Are Consuming Water With High Levels of Nitrates The Next El Niño Could Lock Earth Into a Hotter Climate A Bill to Gut Endangered Species Protections Faced a Major Setback This Week Justice & Health Florida Opens Criminal Probe Into Sloth World After Dozens of Animal Deaths Most of the wild sloths imported by a planned tourist attraction in Orlando did not survive. By Katie Surma, Kiley Price May 1, 2026 Share This Article Republish The Florida Attorney General’s office announced a criminal investigation into the deaths of dozens of sloths at a now-shuttered Orlando business, a development that signals a new level of animal-welfare accountability in the commercial wildlife trade.
In a letter released Friday, Attorney General James Uthmeier confirmed his office is assisting the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida in a probe into Sloth World. The news comes two weeks after an Inside Climate News investigation revealed that more than 31 sloths under the company’s care had died.
The highly sensitive, tree-dwelling animals from the rainforests of Peru and Guyana were kept in a warehouse while Sloth World’s tourist attraction facility was under construction. The company’s now defunct website had promised customers an up-close viewing encounter with sloths for $49, and had been preselling tickets and merchandise for months.