A Sloth Exhibitor Shut Down by New York Wants a Florida Comeback—and Florida Licensed Him
Key takeaways
- Now, Wallach has filed paperwork in Florida to run a new pet store and encounter business called Wildlife Adventures, featuring sloths, kangaroos, reptiles and birds.
- To animal law experts and welfare groups, Wallach’s attempted comeback highlights broader shortcomings in oversight of exotic animal exhibitors.
- We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else.
Why this matters: environmental and climate reporting with long-term consequences.
June 17, 2026 Share This Article Republish. A sloth is seen at the Rescate Wildlife Rescue Center in Alajuela, Costa Rica, on March 16. Credit: Ezequiel Becerra/AFP via Getty Images Related Mass Sloth Deaths in Florida Are a Warning About Wildlife Trade and Pandemic Risk, Scientists Say Florida Temporarily Bans Sloth Imports After Dozens Die at Orlando Business Florida Opens Criminal Probe Into Sloth World After Dozens of Animal Deaths Share This Article Republish Most Popular Trump’s EPA Unlawfully Cancelled Environmental Justice Grants, Judge Rules Hoover Dam Approaches a Hydropower Cliff An Old Well Gushed Waste, Not Oil, in a Small West Texas Town An exotic animal exhibitor whose sloth-encounters business was shuttered by New York courts is attempting to relaunch his operations in Florida, right as the state grapples with the fallout from sloth deaths at a different tourist attraction.
Government inspectors repeatedly found problems at Larry Wallach’s earlier businesses, including unsafe and unsanitary conditions for his sloths, kangaroos, tigers and capybaras, according to federal and state government records obtained by Inside Climate News. He continued operating his Long Island sloth business for more than a year after a 2023 court order to immediately close the location because of zoning violations, and the federal government declined to issue him a new wildlife-exhibition license in 2024.
Now, Wallach has filed paperwork in Florida to run a new pet store and encounter business called Wildlife Adventures, featuring sloths, kangaroos, reptiles and birds. On Sunday, he told Inside Climate News in a text message that he expects to open the business in two weeks.