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Dozens of sloths died before opening of Sloth World attraction in Florida

An investigation has been launched into the deaths of 31 sloths that were to be displayed at a new Florida attraction. The sloths died in an unheated warehouse, with some arriving dead and others succumbing to poor health. The owner denies neglect, saying a virus was to blame.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 outlets · 3 articles Version 1 Coverage Apr 24 – May 1, 2026 Published Aug 14

Lead

Florida prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into the deaths of 31 sloths that were intended for display at a new attraction in Orlando, Sloth World. The animals, imported from South America, died between December 2024 and February 2025 while housed in a warehouse that lacked water and power, according to a report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) released last week.

Coverage Comparison

Reports from BBC and The Guardian provide consistent accounts of the deaths, though they differ in emphasis. BBC's reporting is neutral, focusing on the FWC report and the owner's denial of neglect. The Guardian's coverage is more critical, highlighting the criminal investigation and the advocacy groups' condemnation of the conditions.

Key Claims

The FWC report says that 21 sloths from Guyana died in December 2024 due to a "cold stun" after temporary heaters failed. The warehouse had no water or power, with heaters powered by extension cables from a neighboring building. A further 10 sloths arrived from Peru in February 2025, two already dead, and the remaining eight died of "poor health issues" after appearing emaciated.

Ben Agresta, the owner of Sloth World, has denied the allegations, telling Fox-35 in Orlando that the sloths died from a virus that "showed barely any symptoms and was undetectable even after necropsy." He characterized the report as containing "so much false and inaccurate information out there right now."

The Central Florida Zoo took in 13 of the surviving sloths. One of them, named Bandit, was euthanized due to poor health, the zoo announced on Facebook. Sloth World's owner has reportedly filed for bankruptcy and abandoned plans to open.

The FWC's report notes that the agency issued a verbal warning for a "captive wildlife discrepancy" but no fines or citations. The agency's investigation has been closed.

Perspectives

The owner, Ben Agresta, attributes the deaths to a virus and disputes the neglect allegations. Animal advocacy groups, such as World Animal Protection US, have decried the conditions as "torturous" and called for a broader inquiry into the permitting of wild animal imports. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has pledged to pursue justice "wherever the evidence requires" in the ongoing criminal investigation.

Corrections and Updates

This story is developing. The criminal investigation is ongoing, and further details may emerge. The FWC report was released on Friday, and subsequent reporting includes reactions from officials and advocacy groups.

How each outlet told it

BBC — World as of Apr 25, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC

Framing: Sloths die in Florida warehouse — Neutral

Facts Included:

31 sloths died due to conditions at a Florida warehouse
The warehouse had no water or power
Sloth World's owner denies allegations of neglect
The FWC closed its investigation without issuing a written warning

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of May 1, 2026, 7:15 PM UTC

Framing: Criminal investigation into sloth deaths — Critical

Facts Included:

31 sloths died in a Florida warehouse
Sloth World's owner has filed for bankruptcy
Prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation
The Central Florida Zoo took in 13 sloths from Sloth World
One of the sloths, named Bandit, was euthanized

Read the source article →

The Guardian — World as of Apr 24, 2026, 2:15 PM UTC

Framing: Sloths die in Florida warehouse — Critical

Facts Included:

31 sloths died in a storage warehouse
The warehouse had no water or power
Sloth World's website claims to be a 'slotharium' with a rainforest-inspired habitat
Animal advocacy groups call for investigation into permitting process

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
Claim31 sloths died in a Florida warehouse due to conditions such as cold temperatures and poor health issues.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — World as of May 1, 2026, 7:15 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe warehouse where the sloths were kept had no water or power, and temporary heaters were used but failed, causing the sloths to die from 'cold stun'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from BBC — World as of Apr 25, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSloth World's owner, Ben Agresta, has denied allegations of neglect and claimed that the sloths died from a virus.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via BBC — World as of Apr 25, 2026, 2:00 AM UTC
ClaimThe Central Florida Zoo took in 13 sloths from Sloth World, and one of them, named Bandit, was euthanized due to poor health.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — World as of May 1, 2026, 7:15 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimProsecutors have launched a criminal investigation into the deaths of the sloths and the circumstances of their seizure from their natural habitat.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via The Guardian — World as of May 1, 2026, 7:15 PM UTC
ClaimSloth World's website claims to be a 'slotharium' with a rainforest-inspired habitat, but animal advocacy groups have raised concerns about the welfare of the sloths.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — World as of Apr 24, 2026, 2:15 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) did not issue fines or citations, but gave a verbal warning for a 'captive wildlife discrepancy'.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — World as of Apr 24, 2026, 2:15 PM UTC the outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 outlets · 3 articles consulted: BBC — World, The Guardian — World 7 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-14