Canadian tourist on trial for stealing flamingo from Vegas casino

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 19 Oct, 00:26 · Archive

A Canadian tourist is on trial for animal cruelty after allegedly stealing a flamingo named Peachy from a Las Vegas casino in March.

Mitchell Fairbarn, 34, a Canadian tourist from Ontario, is on trial for two counts of animal cruelty over the theft of Peachy, a flamingo from the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in March. He testified on Friday that he took the bird as a 'silly prank joke' after drinking between 30 and 40 beers while sleep-deprived and gambling on Las Vegas Boulevard. He claimed he had no malicious intent to hurt or kill the bird and said he kept it in his hotel room for 'two or three minutes' before placing it in the hallway and being arrested.

Surveillance footage shown to the jury captured Fairbarn grabbing Peachy by the neck, smiling and laughing with two friends, and taking photographs. Peachy suffered seven to eight missing feathers, broken shafts and blood loss consistent with trauma. The bird's veterinarian said grabbing it by the neck was inappropriate and could potentially have been fatal. Peachy required antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and weeks of pain medication to recover.

During his testimony, Fairbarn said he had spent the day gambling and that he entered the flamingo habitat around 5 a.m. while drunk and sleep-deprived. He told the court he grew up on farms, owns dogs and a parrot, and had previously rescued an abandoned llama and six ducks. He said he thought the prank 'was something that we could joke about for the rest of our lives'.

How it is being reported

• Canadian tourist accused of stealing flamingo from Las Vegas Strip says he drank up to 40 beers before pulling off heist“I thought it was something that we could joke about for the rest of our lives,” Mitchell Fairbarn testified.New York Post · 19 Oct, 00:16
• Man accused of stealing flamingo from Vegas casino testifies he drank a lot that day — like, a lotMitchell Fairbarn admitted footage of him stealing the pink bird ‘doesn’t look good’Independent World · 18 Oct, 21:24

In this story: Mitchell Fairbarn · Peachy · Flamingo Hotel and Casino · Las Vegas · Ontario

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