The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has concluded its months-long criminal investigation into the disgraced Orlando tourist attraction Sloth World, finding “no evidence” of intentional harm, criminal neglect or “failure to provide necessary care” to more than four dozen sloths that died at its hands.
In short, the investigation did not identify any criminal act under local, state or federal law.
Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat from Orlando (and candidate for Orlando mayor) who’s pushed for greater accountability in the Sloth World case, thanked the sheriff’s office for its “rigor” Wednesday, acknowledging that it may be time to look at the state’s wildlife regulations — enforced by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — in order to find true justice for the innocent creatures.
“Dozens of sloths were captured, shipped across the world, and died, and under Florida law as it exists today, no one is held accountable. That is not a failure of the investigators. It is a failure of our statutes and our rules,” Eskamani shared in a statement. “When a facility can be in full compliance with every applicable state standard and animals still die by the dozens, the standards themselves are the problem.”
Back in May, the sheriff’s office initiated an investigation into Sloth World, following explosive reporting of at least 31 sloth deaths at an associated warehouse by Inside Climate News in April. The sloths had been imported to Orlando from Peru and Guyana in 2024 and 2025. They were stored in a warehouse not permitted for living creatures, and were at times exposed to freezing temperatures and lack of electricity due to a fuse trip.
According to the sheriff’s office investigation, however, the “mortality event” involving the deaths of at least 55 innocent sloths “was the result of multiple contributing factors affecting the overall health and survivability of the animals.”
“During the course of the investigation, no evidence was discovered indicating intentional harm, abuse, criminal neglect, failure to provide necessary care, or any deliberate act or omission by facility personnel that contributed to the deaths of the animals as required by Florida State Statutes,” the investigative report concluded.
Sheriff’s deputies interviewed Sloth World owner Benjamin Agresta, former Sloth World employees — including the head animal caretaker and veterinarians — as well as animal experts at Sanford’s Central Florida Zoo, which rescued 13 surviving sloths from Sloth World earlier this year.
Several of the sloths arrived at the zoo emaciated and in critical condition, however — including the youngest and smallest sloth, Mr. Ginger — and were later euthanized due to consistently poor or worsening health conditions.
Dr. Haley Straub, associate veterinarian at Central Florida Zoo, “identified the animals suffered from severe gastrointestinal disease likely caused by multiple contributing factors, including stress, diet, temperature regulation, antibiotic use, and environmental factors,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Peter Bandre, Sloth World’s former vice president and head animal caretaker in charge of importation, acknowledged he “was shocked” by the sloth deaths, “describing it as unlike anything he had encountered during his previous importation career.”
Still, Bandre — and the sheriff’s office — concluded that “multiple stressors” related to the importation of the animals themselves, as well as preexisting injury and illness affecting the sloths before they reached U.S. soil, contributed to their eventual demise — not criminal neglect or improper care by Sloth World’s owner, Bandre or other Sloth World staff.
“Based on the totality of the evidence collected and reviewed, the circumstances surrounding the mortality event appear to be consistent with a multifactorial animal health incident rather than the result of criminal activity or improper care.”
Still, interviews with Central Florida Zoo staff, former Sloth World employees and other industry experts reveal red flags — albeit, once again, nothing that apparently violates Florida law.
Rebecca Restrepo, for instance, who worked for Sloth World in 2025 and now works as an educator at Central Florida Zoo, told investigators she “did not observe intentional animal abuse,” but testified that she had concerns over tick infestations, inconsistent feeding practices, and her observation that “staff appeared to be learning proper sloth care while operating the facility.”
“She did not believe the owners intentionally neglected or abused the sloths but believed they lacked the necessary knowledge and experience to properly manage the number of animals,” the sheriff’s report states.
The Sloth Conservation Foundation and The Sloth Institute both spoke out against Sloth World’s sourcing of animals from the wild. As reported by Inside Climate News, the groups pointed out sloths are notoriously difficult to keep alive in captivity: “The animals are highly sensitive to stress, largely solitary with an aversion to humans, and dependent on specialized diets.”
When ICN asked Agresta about the joint statement, Agresta said such organizations want to abolish animal conservation and “are the enemy.” When asked about the state records indicating sloths had died, he called them “completely fiction” — untrue, as we now know.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission — a state agency led by a board of Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees — concluded that “the owner’s actions did not meet the legal standard for animal cruelty” under state law.
It also stated there “was no legal basis for enforcement action or closure” — referring to the fact that the agency had knowledge of initial sloth deaths at the Sloth World warehouse months before the deaths were reported publicly. The FWC, instead, issued a verbal warning to Sloth World over the discovery of too-small cages in August 2025, after 31 sloths had already died either in transit or at the warehouse where they were being held.
Eskamani, for her part, pledged Wednesday to work with colleagues in the Florida Legislature, the FWC, and animal experts to “strengthen Florida’s rules” in importation and permitting “to close the gaps this case exposed.”
“No animal should be brought into our state to suffer and die because our laws were too weak to stop it,” she said.
