Sloth Encounters Of Long Island Making Home Visits

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Sloth Encounters is making house calls.

After the Hauppauge-based sloth-petting business was ordered to close last week, the store is bringing the sloths to people's homes, according to the Sloth Encounters website.

Suffolk County Supreme Court ordered the temporary shut down of Sloth Encounters on Sept. 15 after the Town of Islip filed a permanent injunction against the business.

Sloth Encounters was ticketed in connection with possession of wild animals and other violations of the Islip Town Code. The three other violations are occupancy of the building without Fire Marshal approval; change of use; and prohibited use in a business 2 zone, according to the Town of Islip.

Through an attorney, Sloth Encounters pleaded not guilty to four town code violations on Sept. 14, News 12 Long Island reported.

Sloth Encounters is offering private, at-home visits with its sloths until Oct. 6, when the company's representatives are due back in court.

"Because the court's ruling had NOTHING to do with the health and safety of our sloths and was strictly just a zoning Issue within the town of Islip, SLOTH ENCOUNTERS CAN COME TO YOU!" the business wrote on Instagram. "We had to close our physical doors of our sanctuary to the public but the doors of education are still WIDE OPEN for all of you!"

A judge ruled last week that Sloth Encounters was forbidden from “publicly exhibiting” wild animals at its store or “exhibiting, possessing or harboring” them anywhere that would violate the Town of Islip code, Newsday reported.

Larry Wallach, an animal specialist at Sloth Encounters, told Newsday the seven sloths are with him and that he has a license issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that is set to expire in 2023. The sloth visits are off-premises and don't have anything to do with the physical storefront, Wallach told Newsday.

Wallach did not respond to Patch's request for comment.

Sloth Encounters was operating at 551 Veterans Memorial Highway. Dueling petitions have been created around Sloth Encounters, with one advocating for the business and the other pushing for its shutdown.

John Zollo, the attorney representing Sloth Encounters, told Newsday he did not know of any home visits by his client, or where the sloths are being housed. He did tell the outlet that Wallach and Sloth Encounters are "compliant" with the court order, however.

Bonnie S. Klapper, a former federal prosecutor, called Sloth Encounters making home visits in the Town of Islip a "blatant violation" of a judge's restraining order against the business. Klapper wrote the letter to Islip Town Attorney John R. DiCioccio urging him to bring Sloth Encounters back to court for contempt.

Klapper is a board member of Humane Long Island, an animal rights organization that has organized protests against Sloth Encounters prior to the shutdown of its storefront.

State and local governments have their own animal welfare legislation. Those with licenses must follow all state and local laws, in addition to the federal animal welfare standards, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which licensed Wallach. The Animal Welfare Act does not supersede state and local authorities, and those with licenses must follow the local guidelines.

Rules across different townships differ. The Town of Oyster Bay does not permit sloths, a town spokeswoman said.

Babylon would allow the sloths to be brought to someone's home for a party, but harboring them somewhere would be a "different story," according to town officials.

The Huntington township allows home visits, according to Newsday. Islip, Smithtown and Brookhaven did not immediately respond.