Las Vegas Tourist Accused of Harming Flamingo at Iconic Hotel

A Canadian visitor was convicted Monday of animal cruelty after prosecutors said he removed a flamingo from its habitat at a Las Vegas Strip resort and carried the distressed bird through the hotel, causing injuries during the bizarre incident.

According to The Associated Press, jurors deliberated for roughly five hours before finding Mitchell Fairbarn, an Ontario resident, guilty of felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges.

The case arose from a March 3 episode at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. Authorities said Fairbarn took Peachy, a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo, from the resort’s wildlife enclosure and brought the bird to his hotel room.

Trial evidence included surveillance video showing Fairbarn holding Peachy inside an elevator before carrying the squawking flamingo along a hotel corridor.

Prosecutors contended that Fairbarn intentionally inflicted pain on the bird, citing video that appeared to show him pulling Peachy by the feet. Feathers were also discovered scattered across the hotel floor.

Las Vegas police began investigating after hotel security reported that the flamingo had disappeared from its enclosure.

When officers located Peachy, the bird had lost seven or eight feathers, had blood on its plumage and showed signs of wing injuries.

Fairbarn’s attorney, Josh Tomsheck, admitted that his client made reckless choices while intoxicated but maintained that he did not mean to harm the flamingo.

“He should not have done that, should not have gone into the habitat, shouldn’t have touched a bird, shouldn’t have taken Peachy inside,” Tomsheck told the jury. “The truth is, Mitch was drunk. Mitch was stupid. He made bad decisions.”

Peachy has recovered physically, but Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, said the flamingo remains more nervous than before during veterinary examinations.

Fairbarn is under house arrest while awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 1.

The felony conviction carries a possible sentence of up to four years in prison, while the misdemeanor charge could add as much as six months.

Prosecutors also told jurors that Fairbarn received death threats after the incident and could not travel back to Canada when his father died while the case was still pending.

Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming argued that Fairbarn brought those consequences upon himself through his own conduct.

“None of that would have happened had he not done what he did, had he not made the choices he made,” Willming said.

The Flamingo Las Vegas, one of the Strip’s oldest resorts, is known for its wildlife habitat, which houses flamingos, turtles, koi fish and other animals.