By John Di Leonardo
Last week, the New York Times published a cover story entitled “Yes, You Can Hug This Sloth ... But Should You?". Author Melena Ryzik’s story used two case studies well-known to my organization and its campaigns: Vince Covino’s SeaQuest and Larry Wallach’s Sloth Encounters New York. In 2019, Idaho-based SeaQuest withdrew its application to bring a $5-million-dollar aquarium to Long Island’s Sunrise Mall in the face of stark opposition from my organization Humane Long Island. And as frequent readers of this column know, just this year Long Island-based Sloth Encounters was shuttered by the Supreme Court and its owner had his license canceled by the USDA following a 2-year Humane Long Island campaign.
Sloths are tree-dwelling wild animals native to South and Central American rainforests. They have sharp teeth and 4-inch claws and cannot be domesticated. They are solitary, mostly deaf, and nearly blind in bright daylight; so, they are easily startled and do not like to be handled—with whistleblowers from both Wallach's now-shuttered Hauppauge store and Vince Covino’s various locations reporting countless bites and lacerations.
Sloth Encounters’ owner Larry Wallach—who grew up the wealthy son of an insurance tycoon—has been cited for more than sixty violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including “critical” violations related to lying to federal inspectors about the bite of a child and after an investigation revealed staff hitting sloths and Wallach roughly grabbing a wounded sloth by his head and neck. In 2023, Wallach pleaded guilty to unlawfully trafficking dangerous Nile monitors and was found in civil contempt. In 2024, Wallach was charged with criminal contempt and his unlawfully operated Hauppauge facility was shuttered by the Supreme Court. Wallach's license to exhibit wild animals was canceled by the USDA on June 27, but he is now continuing to exhibit without a license.
SeaQuest’s Vince Covino is similarly unqualified to care for animals. According to the Times, Covino:
has no formal training in animal husbandry, biology, or zoology; he was a securities broker who left that field after his license was temporarily suspended by regulators for fiscal improprieties. He and his brother, Ammon Covino, fist had an aquarium in Boise, but Ammon was convicted in 2013 of animal trafficking, as he tried to move sea creatures from Florida to Idaho. He was sentenced to a year in federal prison and barred from participating in the marine life industry but was imprisoned again—twice—in 2016 for violating parole after he helped his family open more facilities.
Following numerous animal welfare issues, animal deaths, legal violations, and injuries to employees and the public from direct contact with animals, SeaQuest’s locations in Connecticut, Georgia, and Colorado have been shut down; however, SeaQuest continues to operate seedy aquariums inside malls in California, Nevada, Texas, New Jersey, and Virginia.
For this week’s Anuvrat, I invite you to pledge never to patronize tourist traps that exploit animals for entertainment. Instead, enjoy animals from a distance by watching them through a pair of binoculars or by visiting reputable sanctuaries that don’t breed animals into lifetimes of confinement and don’t allow stressful direct interactions between wild animals and the public.
John Di Leonardo is the founding director of Humane Long Island. He was previously the Senior Manager of Grassroots Campaigns and Animals in Entertainment Campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). He has a Master's degree in Anthrozoology from Canisius College. He also earned a graduate certificate in Jain Studies from the International School of Jain Studies (ISJS) in India. John can be reached at [email protected]. (Photo provided by author)
