Statement on the Conclusion of the Sloth World Investigation

To everyone who has stood with us over these many months — thank you. Your voices, your persistence, and your refusal to look away have carried this effort further than any of us could have managed alone. What began as shock and heartbreak became a community demanding answers, and you never once backed down.

Today, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office released its final investigative report into Sloth World. Their conclusion is clear:

The deaths of the transported sloths were the result of multiple contributing factors affecting the animals’ overall health and survivability — not a criminal act.
No evidence was found of intentional harm, abuse, criminal neglect, failure to provide necessary care, or any deliberate act or omission by facility personnel.

This mirrors the earlier position taken by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), whose inspections documented no violations under current state standards. FWC determined that the circumstances did not meet the legal threshold for “intentional malconduct,” and therefore did not rise to criminal animal cruelty under Florida law.

For anyone who wishes to read the full Sheriff’s Office report, it is publicly available here:
OCSO Sloth World Final Report

What the Findings Mean
Under the laws and rules Florida has today, no one will be held criminally accountable for the deaths of dozens of sloths. The Sheriff’s Office conducted a thorough investigation — reviewing veterinary records, pathology reports, interviews, facility inspections, and import documentation — and under the statute as written, they reached the only conclusion the law currently allows.

This is not a failure of the investigators.
It is a failure of the system.

How I Feel Today
I will be honest: today I feel defeated. I feel justice was not served. I feel the weight of knowing that so many animals suffered and died, and that the law could not protect them.

But I also know this:

Your efforts were not in vain.

Because of you, this case did not disappear.
Because of you, lawmakers took notice.
Because of you, the gaps in Florida’s captive‑wildlife rules are now undeniable.
Because of you, there is momentum to change the standards that allowed this to happen.

Representative Anna Eskamani said it best: compliance is not the same as care. And when a facility can meet every requirement on paper while animals die by the dozens, the requirements themselves must change.

Where We Go From Here
This chapter ends today — but the work does not.

The lesson we take from this is simple and powerful:

Do not be quiet when you see wrongs.
Do not accept that nothing can be done.
Everything can be changed if enough of us stand up and refuse to back down.

Our journey with Sloth World ends here… this time.
But I hope every one of us continues to fight against cruelty, neglect, and injustice wherever we see it.

Thank you — truly — for standing together.