A Canadian tourist on trial for animal cruelty claims he was severely intoxicated and sleep-deprived when he stole a flamingo from a Las Vegas casino, describing the act as a "silly prank joke." Mitchell Fairbarn, 34, testified that he consumed an estimated 30 to 40 beers before snatching "Peachy," a 27-year-old Chilean Flamingo, from its habitat at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in March.
Fairbarn, a father of three from Ontario, told the court that he had decided to "let loose" during a work trip to Las Vegas. He testified that after turning off his phone for the first time in nine years, he spent the day drinking, gambling, and walking down the Las Vegas Strip. In the early hours of the following morning, he encountered the flamingo enclosure.
Surveillance footage shown to the Clark County jury depicted Fairbarn entering the habitat and subsequently carrying Peachy to his hotel room. Fairbarn stated he only intended to hold the bird for a few minutes to take photographs, with the intention of joking about it later. "Did you ever, at any time, have any malicious intent or desire? Did you intend to kill?" Fairbarn's attorney asked, to which he replied, "No."
Fairbarn testified that he placed the flamingo in the hallway outside his room and was arrested while preparing to return it. He admitted that the surveillance video "doesn't look good" and that he was "taking responsibility," but denied knowing how Peachy sustained injuries.
Prosecutors previously presented testimony from a veterinarian who stated that Peachy suffered trauma, including seven to eight missing feathers, broken feather shafts, and bleeding. The bird required antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and weeks of pain medication to recover. Fairbarn has been on house arrest since the incident and has been unable to return to Canada.
Closing arguments in the case are expected. Fairbarn faces two counts of animal cruelty.