An exotic animal exhibitor whose sloth-encounters business was shuttered by New York courts is attempting to relaunch his operations in Florida, right as the state grapples with the fallout from sloth deaths at a different tourist attraction.
Government inspectors repeatedly found problems at Larry Wallach’s earlier businesses, including unsafe and unsanitary conditions for his sloths, kangaroos, tigers and capybaras, according to federal and state government records obtained by Inside Climate News. He continued operating his Long Island sloth business for more than a year after a 2023 court order to immediately close the location because of zoning violations, and the federal government declined to issue him a new wildlife-exhibition license in 2024.
Now, Wallach has filed paperwork in Florida to run a new pet store and encounter business called Wildlife Adventures, featuring sloths, kangaroos, reptiles and birds. On Sunday, he told Inside Climate News in a text message that he expects to open the business in two weeks.
To animal law experts and welfare groups, Wallach’s attempted comeback highlights broader shortcomings in oversight of exotic animal exhibitors. They argue that weak laws and limited enforcement allow repeat offenders to continue acquiring animals, profiting from them and violating the law.
