A Criminal Investigation Has Been Opened Into Sloth World’s Animal Deaths

- Michelle Snow
Central Florida Zoo - Sloth
Central Florida Zoo

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has said that his office is assisting the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida with an “ongoing criminal investigation” into Sloth World Orlando, following the deaths of numerous sloths under its care.

Attorney General Uthmeier confirmed the investigation in a letter to State Rep. Anna Eskamani, who requested a criminal investigation be opened into potential violations of alleged animal cruelty.

This is about honoring the sloths that died and making sure nothing like this ever happens again in Florida,” Rep. Eskamani said in a post on X, that included the Florida AG’s X post.

As we posted last week, Sloth World was an attraction scheduled to open at ICON Park on I-Drive, and in December 2025, in preparation for the attraction opening, several shipments of sloths were stored in an unheated Orlando warehouse, ans subsequently many of the animals died during a cold snap that month.

Those that survived were taken in by the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens in Sanford, but many were in rough shape. One Sloth named Bandit passed away earlier this week, and another, Habanero, is not doing so well.

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Following this tragedy coming to light, owner Ben Agresta says the Orlando Sloth World attraction will now never open, and Agresta plans to file for bankruptcy protection. To which I say, good. They obviously weren’t set up to care for the sloths properly, and no animals should be in peril just to entertain humans.

Thanks to the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens for taking in the sloths and taking care of them! They are accepting donations to help with the costs of care at CentralFloridaZoo.org.

About Michelle Snow

Michelle is the owner and editor of CitySurfing Orlando. She also owns Zengrrl.com, is a freelance writer specializing in travel and entertainment, has authored/co-authored four guidebooks on Orlando and Florida, and was head editor/writer at TheDisneyBlog.com for 10 years. She's lived in Orlando near Walt Disney World since 1995, and still finds there's so much fun to be had in Central Florida.
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