Don’t let sloths become the next victims of a cruel and exploitative industry.

Sloths belong in the trees, not in people’s homes, or at a roadside zoo for selfies.

Across Central and South America, growing numbers of baby sloths are being torn from their mothers to be sold as pets or used for tourist photos. Most never survive the journey. It is estimated that up to 90% of sloths taken from the wild die before ever reaching a home.

This trade is growing fast. If we act today, we can stop it before sloths face the same fate as so many other species--caught in a trade that places individual animals, and species, at risk.

At the CITES (COP20) conference this November, countries will vote on a proposal to give sloths stronger protection from international trade. A "yes" vote will give governments the power to intervene before this cruel trade spirals out of control.

I urge CITES delegates to support CoP20 Prop.11 to include Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni) and Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus) in Appendix II of CITES.

In addition to habitat loss already threatening populations, illegal take and trade in sloths is increasing across Central and South America. Unable to survive or breed well in captivity, thousands of baby sloths are taken from the wild each year to fill a global demand for the pet and tourist trade—many torn from their mothers. Experts estimate that up to 90% die when taken from the wild.

I call on world leaders to vote YES for stronger international protections for sloths at CoP20. With species decline in the wild, sloths cannot wait to be protected from the growing threat of trafficking.

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