Reps. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) & Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) have teamed up to introduce a bipartisan bill shutting down the importation of sloths into the U.S.
The SLOTHS Act
The Stopping Legalized Organized Trafficking and Harm to Sloths (SLOTHS) Act, announced on International Sloth Day, seeks to ban imports of wild sloths used for purposes other than documented scientific research and eligible conservation breeding programs at accredited institutions.
The bill also establishes penalties for violating the proposed ban.
Lawmakers Demand An End To Cruelty
“This is about preventing the cruelty before it happens,” Congressman Frost said at a press conference at the Central Florida Zoo.
“Sloths have highly specialized needs; their diets, physiology, and environmental requirements make them particularly vulnerable when they are captured, transported, and kept in conditions that do not meet those needs,” Congresswoman Lee said.
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Over 50 Sloth Deaths From Private Orlando Attraction
The bipartisan effort follows investigative reporting that revealed the deaths of over 50 sloths connected to the defunct Sloth World attraction in Orlando, Fla.
According to World Animal Protection, a global non-profit focused on ending animal cruelty, the sloths were starved and left to freeze during transport before the attraction ever opened.
Inspection reports also revealed 31 sloths died of infection in a warehouse without electricity or water, including a nine-month-old baby named Kiwi. However, additional government records Inside Climate News gathered revealed that more than 50 sloths ultimately died at the attraction.
Authorities Found No Wrong-Doing Despite Reports & Acknowledgement
In May 2026, Florida regulators immediately imposed a two-month ban on sloth imports into the state.
Despite the deaths and the inspection reports detailing the gruesome deaths, authorities in September 2026 concluded, however, that no criminal wrongdoing had occurred.
Inside Climate News also revealed that Florida regulators were aware of sloth deaths at the attraction since at least August 2025. Regulators at the time did not see a reason to intervene despite the death toll’s increase.
“That should never happen again,” Congressman Frost added. “Our government failed these animals.”
