Canadian man convicted of cruelty after taking flamingo from Las Vegas hotel

A Canadian tourist was convicted Monday of felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty after taking a flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure at a Las Vegas hotel and carrying it to his room. His lawyer called it a drunken mistake; prosecutors said he deliberately hurt and frightened the bird.

Jurors deliberated for about five hours before finding Mitchell Fairbarn, of Ontario, guilty in connection with the March 3 incident at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. He remains under house arrest ahead of a Dec. 1 sentencing hearing and faces up to four years in prison for the felony, plus a possible six months for the misdemeanor.

Peachy, a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo, was missing seven or eight feathers when authorities found it, and had blood on its feathers and injuries to its wings. Las Vegas police responded after hotel security reported that someone had taken the bird. Video shown at trial captured Fairbarn holding the squawking flamingo in an elevator and carrying it down a hotel hallway.

Prosecutors said Fairbarn willfully caused Peachy pain. They pointed to feathers found on the hotel floor and argued that the bird felt pain when it was pulled by its feet. Defense attorney Josh Tomsheck said Fairbarn regretted taking Peachy but had not intended to harm the bird, a key issue in the felony case.

“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 jurors. “The truth is, Mitch was drunk. Mitch was stupid. He made bad decisions.”

Fairbarn testified that he took Peachy to his room to show friends, not to torture the bird, CBS News reported, citing its affiliate KLAS-TV. He said he had consumed “30 to 40” beers with friends over 24 hours while in Las Vegas for a work event at Con Expo, according to KLAS-TV. The bird spent about 15 minutes with him and another two or three minutes in the room before being released into the hallway, the station reported.

Peachy is doing all right physically but has become more anxious and nervous during evaluations, said veterinarian Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital.

Fairbarn showed no visible emotion and declined to comment as he left court with his wife after the verdict. Tomsheck also declined to comment. Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming said Fairbarn had received death threats and had been unable to leave the United States when his father died while the case was pending. Those circumstances were unfortunate, she said, but “none of that would have happened had he not done what he did, had he not made the choices he made.”

Outside the courtroom, Nevada animal rights advocate John Waudby said he believed the verdict delivered justice for Peachy. “I hope this sends a message to anybody else that wants to mess with our animals, that you’re not going to do it in Nevada,” he said.