Overview
- Zoo officials said Tuesday that Willow was humanely euthanized after a quality-of-life assessment, marking the fifth death among 13 sloths transferred to the Central Florida Zoo from Sloth World and leaving eight still under care.
- Staff reported the rescued animals arrived with dehydration, malnutrition, digestive problems and signs of cold exposure after being kept in a makeshift warehouse that reportedly lacked reliable heat and running water.
- The Central Florida Zoo provided ICU-level treatment, used a 30-day biological quarantine and consulted Association of Zoos and Aquariums experts while some sloths have been cleared from intensive care but remain fragile.
- State authorities have opened criminal and regulatory inquiries, with Attorney General James Uthmeier assigning a statewide prosecutor to assist the Ninth Circuit State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigating the warehouse conditions.
- The case has spurred policy pressure and short-term regulatory moves, including a reported 60-day pause on sloth imports, and raised calls from lawmakers to bar wild-caught animals from entertainment use as officials review oversight gaps.