A Canadian tourist who told jurors he’d had 30 to 40 beers before taking a flamingo from a Las Vegas hotel has been found guilty of animal cruelty.
Mitchell Fairbarn, 34, from Ontario, was convicted Monday, Oct. 19. He’d taken Peachy, a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo, out of the wildlife habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and carried the bird up to the hotel’s 14th floor.
“I thought it would be, at the time, funny,” he testified.
Peachy was left bloodied, with a wing wound that needed stitches.
A Nevada animal advocacy group has since launched a petition asking the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
What happened to Peachy
It happened just after 5 a.m. on March 3.
According to police, Fairbarn went into the Flamingo’s outdoor wildlife habitat, pulled a flamingo to the ground by its legs and pinned it down while a photo was taken.
Then he went back in. Police say he waded through the water, chased several flamingos and grabbed Peachy.
He wrapped the bird in a grey shirt and walked it through the hotel, into an elevator and up to the 14th floor.
In a video recorded around 5:32 a.m., police say he can be heard saying, “I’m taking it home.”
He was arrested around 6 a.m.
A wing wound that needed stitches
Police allege Fairbarn choked and threw the bird.
Fairbarn admitted he tried to “pop” Peachy’s wing back into place. Police say that ruptured a blood supply in the wing, and the wound needed multiple stitches.
When Peachy was found, there was blood on the bird’s feathers, and several feathers were missing.
Investigators searched the hotel room and seized bedding, clothing, feathers, blood samples and Fairbarn’s phone.
How is Peachy the flamingo doing after the attack?
Peachy survived.
Peachy’s veterinarian, Dr. Tiffany Moore of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, said in March that the injuries were minor and the bird was expected to fully recover.
She now says Peachy is doing well physically, but is more anxious and nervous during exams.
Caesars Entertainment, which owns the Flamingo, called the attack “deeply distressing.” It says Peachy and the other birds are being cared for by veterinarians and the hotel’s animal care team.
What the jury saw
The trial started Oct. 13.
Prosecutors Haley Willming and Alex Chen built their case on video. They showed the jury surveillance footage, photos and Snapchat clips.
One clip showed Fairbarn grabbing the flamingo by the neck while two friends were with him. Later video showed him alone in a hotel hallway with the bird, heading for the elevators.
He was originally charged with four counts of willfully torturing, maiming or killing an animal. Before trial, prosecutors narrowed the case to Peachy.
“I’m taking responsibility”
Fairbarn took the stand in his own defence.
He told jurors he’d had 30 to 40 beers that night and called taking Peachy a “silly pranky joke.” He admitted trespassing in the habitat, but denied he meant to hurt the bird.
“I’m taking responsibility,” he said.
Prosecutors asked whether being drunk excuses hurting a person or an animal.
“No,” he said.
His lawyers argued the case was about bad, drunken decisions, not cruelty.
Guilty on both counts
Jurors deliberated for about five hours before finding Fairbarn guilty of one felony and one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty. One count covered what he did inside the habitat, the other what happened after he took Peachy into the hotel.
Fairbarn showed no emotion as the verdict was read. His wife, his brother and a friend were in the courtroom. He and his lawyer declined to comment afterward.
“What happened to Peachy was disturbing and completely unacceptable,” Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said.
A petition for the maximum sentence
After the verdict, Nevada Animal Advocates launched a petition called [“Justice for Peachy”]([petition link]).
It asks District Judge Jacqueline Bluth to give Fairbarn the maximum sentence. The group’s founder, John Waudby, also wants him removed from the U.S. after serving it.
“He does his prison time, and then we throw him out of the country and don’t let him back into the United States,” Waudby told News 3 Las Vegas.
The petition is an advocacy campaign. It has no legal weight. The judge decides the sentence under Nevada law, and any immigration consequences would be up to U.S. federal authorities.
What could he get?
The felony is a Category D felony in Nevada, which carries one to four years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The misdemeanor carries up to six more months.
Judge Bluth will decide Fairbarn’s sentence at a hearing on Dec. 1. Until then, he’s under house arrest.
For a Canadian, a U.S. felony conviction can follow him long after any sentence, including at the border.
A Las Vegas landmark
The Flamingo opened in 1946 and is one of the oldest resorts on the Strip. It’s named after the bird.
Its wildlife habitat is one of the Strip’s best-known free attractions. Visitors walk through gardens and past ponds that are home to Chilean flamingos, other birds, turtles and koi.
Fairbarn will be sentenced on Dec. 1. Peachy is still in the care of the Flamingo’s veterinarians and animal care team.
Sources
Clark County District Attorney’s Office, statement on verdict, Oct. 2026 (link if available)
Nevada Animal Advocates, “Justice for Peachy” petition: [petition link]
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrest report, March 2026
Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 193 (felony categories and penalties): https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-193.html
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