If you enjoy watching cheetahs sprint or ospreys dive, you might not be a big fan of sloths—one of the slowest and sleepiest animals on the planet. But a closer look at these Central and South American rainforest relatives of anteaters and armadillos reveals a fascinating animal unlike any other.

© Mark M. Gaskill

Sloths—who can be two-toed and three-toed—spend the vast majority of their time in trees, often hanging upside down from branches, thanks to their powerful front legs. Sloths sleep up to 20 hours a day and move very little when they are awake. If spotted on the ground by a predator, sloths have virtually no chance of escape but will face their pursuer with their sharp claws and fierce bites. But place that same sloth in the water, and you're practically looking at an Olympic swimmer. In fact, sloths take to the water so well that they'll intentionally plummet from a treetop directly into the river below. Sloths even mate and give birth while hanging from branches, and sloth babies cling to their mother for up to nine months.

One of the sloths rescued from USGE

While sloths are right at home in trees and in the water, one place they don't belong is in captivity. Several sloths seized from the now-defunct exotic-animal dealer U.S. Global Exotics (USGE)—based on evidence from a PETA undercover investigation of the hellish warehouse—were thankfully taken in by a progressive, compassionate facility in Detroit. Help keep sloths—and other animals—safe by never spending a dime at any store that sells animals.

Written by Joe Taksel

Authorities at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport arrested a man headed to Dubai who had "a virtual zoo" of baby exotic animals stuffed in cages and canisters inside his suitcases. Anti-trafficking officers had been tracking the smuggler since he purchased two leopards, two panthers, an Asiatic black bear, and two macaque monkeys, and they believe that he is part of a wildlife smuggling network.

Unfortunately, wildlife trafficking isn't limited to Thailand and Dubai. Before it was shut down following a PETA investigation, Texas-based U.S. Global Exotics (USGE) was a major player in the exotic-animal trade, importing and exporting hundreds of thousands of animals annually for years and supplying animals to companies and dealers all over the world, including PetSmart and PETCO. 
 

 
Animals are still suffering at similar facilities, and they will continue to do so as long as people buy exotic animals from pet stores. Please encourage anyone you know who wants to share their home with an animal always to adopt and never buy. 

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow
 

Authorities recently raided Dutch animal dealer and breeding mill Reintjes—a supplier of U.S. Global Exotics (USGE)—and  found animals crammed in cages in a dark warehouse with no working fan to combat stale air and the stench of urine and feces. Many animals had no access to food or water, and many were starving. Authorities seized every animal on the premises—5,900 in all, including mice, rats, hamsters, and birds—from Reintjes' owners, who already had criminal records for cruelty to animals.
 

 
Reintjes was a global supplier of animals to the pet trade. In 2009 alone, it supplied 112,546 animals to USGE, a major supplier of animals to wholesale dealers and pet stores in the U.S.—including PETCO and PetSmart suppliers Rainbow World Exotics and Sun Pet—until it was shut down following a PETA undercover investigation. USGE, which purchased rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas, chipmunks, tree squirrels, and other animals from Reintjes, shared the Dutch company's view of animals as disposable commodities. Authorities raiding USGE found live animals shoved into soda bottles and tiny food storage containers; animals with severe, untreated injuries; a widespread lack of food, water, and adequate housing; and sick animals left to die. In fact, on the day of the seizure, an unpacked shipment of hundreds of chinchillas and hamsters from Reintjes was among the first things authorities found.

There is no word yet on whether Reintjes will be shut down permanently, but we will release updates as we have them. It is impossible to patronize pet stores like PETCO and PetSmart that sell live animals without supporting abusive animal dealers and breeding mills. Please, purchase your animal supplies at stores that don't sell live animals.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow