Canadian Tourist Charged After Torturing Flamingo from Vegas Resort

• A Canadian tourist faces felony charges for torturing a flamingo he abducted from the namesake Vegas Strip resort
• Mitchell Fairbarn, 33, allegedly choked and threw the bird, named Peachy, in his hotel room
• A judge set bail at $12K and ordered Fairbarn to surrender his passport
  

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A Canadian tourist faces felony animal‑cruelty charges after police say he tortured a flamingo in his hotel room. Mitchell Fairbarn from Ontario slipped into the Flamingo Las Vegas’ wildlife habitat early Tuesday morning.

Fairbairn, 33, was arrested shortly afterward and faces four counts of torturing, maiming, or killing an animal kept for companionship or pleasure. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which broke the story, he remained in custody as of Wednesday afternoon.

Security footage reviewed by officers showed Fairbarn entering the habitat before dawn and attempting to grab multiple birds. Investigators say he first chased one flamingo and injured its wing before turning his attention to another — Peachy, a longtime resident of the resort’s outdoor sanctuary.

The video allegedly shows Fairbarn tucking Peachy under his shirt and jacket, then boarding an elevator with another man. (Fairbarn was the only person charged.) After exiting the elevator on the 14th floor,  police said he laughed and announced, “I’m taking it home.”

What happened inside Fairbarn’s room, police said, was documented by photos and videos from the suspect’s phone that depict him choking and throwing Peachy to the floor. While Peachy screamed, police said, Fairbarn laughed.

Police described Peachy as distressed but alive when they arrived. Along with the bird whose wing was clipped, Peachy was placed in the care of veterinarians working with the resort. Fairbarn told police that he popped the flamingo’s wing back into place, thinking he was being helpful, but police said the bird required stitches.

Fairbarn told officers he had been drinking heavily and did not remember much of the encounter, though he acknowledged his behavior was “repulsive,” according to the report.

A Las Vegas judge set his bail at $12,000 and ordered him to surrender his passport, stay away from the Strip, avoid all animals, and wear an electronic monitor if released.

Caesars Entertainment, which owns the Flamingo, called the incident “deeply distressing” in a statement Wednesday evening.

“Our beloved birds, including Peachy, are receiving care from dedicated veterinarians and our animal‑care team,” the company said. “We are hopeful they will make a full recovery.”

Not the First Time

The Flamingo Wildlife Habitat spans 15 of the resort’s 19-acre footprint and houses dozens of exotic birds – including about a dozen flamingos — koi fish, and turtles. A popular free attraction, the sanctuary has occasionally drawn the wrong kind of attention.

In 2012, a UC Berkeley law student was convicted of beheading a guinea fowl on the property. He was sentenced to probation and forced to attend a 190-day “regimental discipline” program in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Other law students accused in that case also took plea deals and served two days each in jail.

And in 2005, police — accompanied by a camera crew from the TV show Cops – famously stopped two intoxicated men attempting to steal a flamingo.