A Canadian tourist who took a flamingo from its habitat at a popular Las Vegas Strip hotel and carried it through the property was found guilty Monday of animal cruelty after prosecutors argued the bird was injured during the bizarre encounter.
Mitchell Fairbarn, of Ontario, Canada, was convicted of felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after jurors deliberated for about five hours.
The case stemmed from a March 3 incident at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, where Fairbarn removed a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure and brought the bird to his hotel room.
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Surveillance footage presented during the trial showed Fairbarn holding the flamingo inside an elevator and carrying it through a hotel hallway as the bird squawked.
Prosecutors argued Fairbarn deliberately caused the bird pain, pointing to footage of him pulling Peachy by its feet and feathers found on the hotel floor.
Las Vegas police were called after hotel security reported the flamingo missing from its enclosure.
When authorities found Peachy, the flamingo was missing seven or eight feathers, had blood on its feathers and suffered injuries to its wings.
Fairbarn’s defense attorney, Josh Tomsheck, acknowledged his client made poor decisions while intoxicated but argued he never intended to injure the animal.
“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.”
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Peachy is doing well physically but remains more anxious during veterinary examinations, according to Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, who treated the bird.
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Fairbarn remains under house arrest as he awaits sentencing on Dec. 1.
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He faces up to four years in prison on the felony conviction and an additional six months for the misdemeanor offense.
During the trial, prosecutors acknowledged Fairbarn had received death threats following the incident and was unable to return to Canada when his father died while the criminal case was pending.
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Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming argued those consequences resulted from his own actions.
“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.
