Tourist Accused of Harming Flamingo at Las Vegas Hotel in Video

A Canadian visitor was convicted Monday of animal cruelty after prosecutors said he hurt a flamingo he removed from its habitat at a well-known Las Vegas Strip resort and carried through the hotel.

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

The charges arose from a March 3 incident 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.

Video shown in court captured Fairbarn carrying Peachy through a hotel corridor and holding the bird inside an elevator while it repeatedly squawked.

Prosecutors said Fairbarn knowingly inflicted pain on Peachy, citing footage that appeared to show him pulling the flamingo by its feet. Investigators also found feathers scattered across the hotel floor.

Police became involved after resort security notified authorities that the flamingo had disappeared from its enclosure.

When Peachy was recovered, the bird was missing seven or eight feathers, had blood on its plumage and had sustained wing injuries.

Defense attorney Josh Tomsheck admitted that Fairbarn made reckless choices while intoxicated, but maintained that his client did not mean to harm 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 the jury. “The truth is, Mitch was drunk. Mitch was stupid. He made bad decisions.”

Peachy has recovered physically, but the flamingo remains noticeably more nervous during veterinary appointments, said Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, where the bird received treatment.

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

The felony conviction carries a potential prison sentence of up to four years, while the misdemeanor offense could add another six months.

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

Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming argued that those hardships stemmed from Fairbarn’s 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.