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“Many people associate the term Sanctuary with an ‘earthly paradise’ where rescued animals from illegal trade, circuses, etc.
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They said zoos have better protocol in caring for animals and providing enough space in cages. In their 54-page complaint, submitted earlier this year to the Environment Ministry (MINAE), they also accuse the sanctuary of lacking a management plan, which is required by law, and mistreating sloths by keeping them together in overly cramped cages and feeding them unhealthy diets. Veterinarians Camila Dunner and Gabriel Pastor, who worked at the sanctuary for 10 months before leaving in March, contended in their complaint that Avey-Arroyo exaggerates the difficulty of releasing sloths in order to keep more animals at the center and profit from tourist visits. “They have to be taught everything, and a lot of times people don’t understand that.” “A lot of them are going to die if they’re freed again without proper rehabilitation,” Avey-Arroyo said.
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Avey-Arroyo said it takes a long time for orphaned sloths to learn basic life skills like what to eat, which trees to avoid, and how to hide from predators. But at the same time, as Avey-Arroyo said, they may be the only practical way to take care of the dozens of animals continually dropped off at the sanctuary.ĭespite the animals’ recent fame, researchers really don’t know that much about sloths. What they do know is that sloths learn everything they need to know from their mothers. What I saw were enclosures that did little to mimic a sloth’s natural environment. (Courtesy of the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica) The accusationsĪvey-Arroyo and her daughter Ursula Avey-Rochté recently took me on a private tour of the Sloth Sanctuary, including the back area of cages. Since then, it’s become famous through its own television show on the Animal Planet channel, a visit from celebrity conservationist Jeff Corwin, numerous published stories and even a t-shirt campaign by American Apparel featuring Buttercup, one of the sanctuary’s sloths.Īvey-Arroyo said no point in the sanctuary’s history has been more trying than this one, where hate mail has swamped her inbox and fewer visitors are showing up for the tours offered six days a week. She and her husband started the sanctuary, located off of Highway 36 along Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, a quarter of a century ago to care for orphaned and injured sloths. “It’s mind-numbing what’s been happening.” Sanctuary founder Judy Avey-Arroyo said the fallout has been a nightmare.
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Recently, questions arose about this world-renowned sanctuary when a pair of veterinarians who had worked for the rescue center claimed that behind the cute sloths seen by visitors and feel-good stories promoted by the sanctuary owners, a dysfunctional business was operating above the law and mistreating the animals.Īn exposé based on their testimony, published by the animal-centric website The Dodo, went viral with more than 4 million shares. Sloths, too, are more complicated than you might think.
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That might sound bad, but it’s actually much more complicated. CAHUITA, Limón - There’s an area in the back of Costa Rica’s Sloth Sanctuary that most visitors do not see. More than 100 injured adult sloths are kept in rows of cages here.