A Canadian man on trial for animal cruelty in Clark County told jurors Friday that drinking as many as 40 beers in one day led him to pull a flamingo from its habitat at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and carry it to his hotel room.
Mitchell Fairbarn, 34, a married father of three from central Ontario, faces two counts of animal cruelty over the March incident involving a bird known to hotel staff as Peachy. He took the stand in his own defense and said the act was meant as a “silly prank joke,” not an attempt to harm the 27-year-old Chilean flamingo.
Fairbarn testified that his father had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and that on March 2 he turned off his phone for the first time in nine years to “let loose” during a trip to Las Vegas for a global construction show. Over the course of that day, he said, he drank an estimated 30 to 40 beers, walked Las Vegas Boulevard, and gambled.
According to his testimony, he turned his phone back on, made a Snapchat audio call to a work colleague, and ended up at the hotel’s flamingo habitat around 5 a.m. while drunk and sleep-deprived. He said he first sat with another flamingo in the enclosure before grabbing Peachy and carrying the bird to his hotel room for two or three minutes, taking selfies with his hands around its neck.
Fairbarn testified he then set the flamingo down in the hallway and was arrested while he was changing clothes, intending to return the bird.
Surveillance footage shown to the Clark County jury captured Fairbarn taking Peachy from the habitat.
“I thought it was something that we could joke about for the rest of our lives,” Fairbarn told the court.
His attorney asked him directly whether he intended any harm. “Did you ever, at any time, have any malicious intent or desire? Did you intend to kill?” the attorney asked, according to testimony reported from the courtroom.
Veterinarian Dr. Tiffany Moore testified earlier in the trial that Peachy was left with seven to eight missing feathers, broken feather shafts, and blood loss consistent with trauma. The bird required antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication, and weeks of pain treatment to recover.
Under cross-examination, Fairbarn acknowledged the surveillance video “doesn’t look good” and said he was “taking responsibility,” though he maintained he had “no idea” how the flamingo’s feathers were damaged.
Fairbarn also testified that he has been under house arrest since the incident and has not been able to return home to Canada. Closing statements from prosecutors are expected Monday.
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