Tourist Who Snatched Flamingo from Vegas Strip Habitat Found Guilty of Animal Cruelty

A Clark County jury on Monday Oct. 19) convicted Canadian tourist Mitchell Fairbarn of felony and misdemeanor animal‑cruelty charges for removing a flamingo from the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino’s wildlife habitat and injuring the bird during a March 3 incident captured on surveillance video.

Fairbarn—a 34-year-old resident of Ontario, Canada—faces up to four years in prison on the felony and six months on the misdemeanor at his sentencing, which is set for Dec. 1.

He has been under house arrest in the Las Vegas area (with electronic monitoring) since shortly after his March 3 arrest. As a condition of his bail, he had to surrender his passport and was not allowed to leave the U.S.

Fairbarn’s attorney complained that his client received death threats and should have been allowed to return to Canada when his father died. Prosecutors countered that those consequences stemmed from Fairbarn’s own choices.

No Leg for Defense to Stand On

Fairbarn’s defense attorney, Josh Tomsheck, conceded that his client’s conduct was reckless and fueled by intoxication—Fairbarn admitted to drinking between 30 and 40 beers in the 24 hours leading up to the incident—but he insisted that Fairbarn did not intend to harm the exotic bird.

Fairbarn testified that he grabbed Peachy to show friends in his room and released the bird minutes later.

Tomsheck argued that prosecutors failed to prove intent to harm—a required element of the felony charge—describing the incident as “dumb” and “drunken,” but not malicious.

But jurors, after reviewing 112 exhibits and testimony from 14 witnesses, were not swayed. They found that his conduct amounted to two separate counts of cruelty—one tied to his actions inside the habitat, the other to what occurred in the hotel hallway and room.

Caught Pink-Handed

Prosecutors argued that Fairbarn caused pain to Peachy, pointing to video showing him carrying the 27‑year‑old Chilean flamingo through an elevator and down a hallway, and to physical evidence including blood on a hotel wall, missing feathers, and wing injuries.

Wyatt Marshall, a facilities manager at the Flamingo, testified that he wrapped Peachy in a towel and noticed red spots on the fabric. Prosecutors challenged inconsistencies in his initial recollection of the floor number but emphasized the physical evidence of injury.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Haley Willming pressed Fairbarn directly on the stand, asking whether Peachy was hurt as a result of the encounter. He replied, “Yes.”

The verdict came after about five hours of deliberations, closing out a four‑day trial before District Court Judge Jacqueline Bluth.

How’s Peachy Now?

Though the Flamingo confirmed earlier this year that Peachy was healing, veterinarian Dr. Tiffany Moore, medical director at Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, told jurors that the flamingo shows increased anxiety during evaluations.

Nevada animal rights advocate John Waudby, who recently helped strengthen the state’s animal cruelty laws, told reporters outside the courtroom that he believes justice was delivered on Peachy’s behalf.

“I hope this sends a message to anybody else that wants to mess with our animals, that you’re not going to do it in Nevada,” he said outside the courtroom after Monday’s verdict.