Two animal cruelty convictions in Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel case; sentencing hearing set for Dec. 1

According to The Guardian, after about five hours of deliberation, a jury in a Nevada court convicted Mitchell Fairbarn, a resident of Ontario, Canada, of one felony and one misdemeanor count of animal cruelty. The case stems from March 3, when Fairbarn entered the flamingo habitat at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and took the 27-year-old Chilean flamingo Peachy into a hotel room. Video shown at trial showed him carrying the screaming flamingo through the elevator and hallway. The habitat also housed hummingbirds, turtles, koi and other animals.

Police said Peachy was found with seven to eight feathers missing, blood on the feathers and injuries to both wings. Prosecutors said the episode was a malicious prank and argued that Fairbarn deliberately caused Peachy pain: feathers were found on the hotel floor, video shown at trial showed Peachy screaming in Fairbarn's hands, and prosecutors also said the bird experienced pain when it was dragged by its feet.

Defense attorney Josh Tomsheck said Fairbarn was intoxicated at the time and deeply regretted his actions, and had never intended to harm Peachy. He told the jury: "He should not have done that, should not have entered the habitat, should not have touched the bird and, above all, should not have taken Peachy into the room. The fact is, Mitch was drunk. He was stupid. He made a bad decision." The defense conceded that the conduct was improper but insisted that intoxication and recklessness did not amount to an intent to cause harm to an animal.

Intent to cause harm was a key element of the felony charge. Prosecutors argued that Fairbarn intentionally caused the animal pain, while the defense said he had merely made a reckless decision while intoxicated; the jury ultimately rejected the defense's position that he had not acted with intent to cause harm.

Regarding Peachy's actual injuries, police documented missing feathers, blood on the feathers and wing injuries; veterinarian Tiffany Moore said Peachy had not suffered serious injuries overall but was more anxious and tense during the assessment. Prosecutors emphasized the evidence of pain, while the veterinarian stressed Peachy's overall condition; the report did not state the bird's subsequent long-term psychological effects or the outcome of follow-up care.

Prosecutors also told the jury that Fairbarn had received death threats because he took the flamingo and that his father died while he was awaiting trial; at the time, he was unable to leave the United States. Clark County prosecutor Haley Willming said these things were regrettable, but "if he had not done what he did, if he had not made the choices he made, none of this would have happened."

Fairbarn remains under house arrest and will face a sentencing hearing on Dec. 1. The felony carries a maximum of four years in prison, and the misdemeanor can carry up to six additional months. His final sentence has not yet been determined and will be imposed by the judge at the hearing.