Venezuelan sloth rescue centre faces closure as permits lapse and funds dwindle
The Chuwie Foundation’s sloth rescue and rehabilitation centre near Caracas is on the brink of shutting down after its transport permit expired and financial support ran out.
Juan Carlos Rodríguez and Haydée Rodríguez started the Chuwie Foundation Sloth Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in San Antonio, Altos Mirandinos, after finding a burned sloth in 2020. Since then the team has rescued more than 1,000 sloths, caring for five recovering individuals and one educational ambassador, while documenting their work on social media to attract volunteers and donations. Funding comes mainly from the couple’s own household, and veterinary support is provided through Vuurman clinics.
Their mobilisation permit, issued by the Venezuelan authority Ecosocialismo, expired in February, and renewal has become tangled in bureaucratic delays. Negotiations for a new plot in Carrizal fell through because the land’s legal title remains unclear, leaving the centre unable to expand or plant fast-growing yagrumo trees. With resources stretched thin, the founders warn that they are weeks from a technical closure, which would end all new rescues and limit activities to ongoing treatment of existing sloths.
Why it matters
The centre’s possible closure threatens the welfare of urban sloths in Venezuela, a species increasingly endangered by human hazards.
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