ORLANDO, Fla. — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission has introduced new rules for sloth importation and ownership following the deaths of over fifty sloths at the planned Sloth World attraction in downtown Orlando.
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This comes after the FWC enacted its temporary 60-day ban on the importation of sloths to Florida, a ban that is set to expire on July 10.
READ: Florida bans sloth imports after 55 die at Sloth World
According to the new memo from the FWC, any animal facility or “[entity who is] properly permitted to possess sloth species will be required to obtain a no cost Wildlife Importation Permit prior to the importation of sloth(s) into Florida.”
READ: Central Florida Zoo announces death of Willow the sloth after weeks of declining health
In addition, Class III Wildlife Permits (also known as “blanket import permits”) will no longer cover sloths of any species. The memo specifically states that the Captive Wildlife Office will be updating the “Authorized Wildlife” section of all Class III permits “to indicate that they authorize the importation of all Class III mammals, except capuchin, spider, and woolly monkeys, cervids, and sloths.”
READ: Lawmakers demand charges after 34 sloth deaths linked to Sloth World
Representative Anna Eskamani shared the memo to her Facebook page and praised the FWC’s decision.
“This latest announcement from the FWC is a small but important win,” she wrote. “Obviously, our desire is for a permanent ban on the importation of wild-caught sloths and stricter ownership criteria ... [but] it will take more time to reach those goals, but this change announced today to permits will go into effect immediately. The work for animal welfare continues!”
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