Conservationists raised concerns Wednesday that proposed rule changes in reaction to the deaths of more than 50 imported sloths for the once-planned Sloth World attraction in Orlando do not go far enough.
During a more than one-hour online hearing, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission outlined plans to require facilities and cages used to handle imported sloths to meet the same requirements as capuchin, spider, and woolly monkeys — new world monkeys native to the forests of Central and South America — and for the owners to document either 1,000 hours of sloth-specific experience or 500 hours as well as passing a written exam before a permit is approved.
Those rule changes would also increase the minimum age of applicants from 16 to 18…