Man Charged with Abuse of Flamingos on Vegas Strip Denied Leniency
A judge denied a motion to alter the release conditions for a man charged with four counts of felony animal abuse stemming from a March incident involving flamingos at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.
Mitchell Fairbarn, a 33-year-old Canadian citizen from Sunderland, Ontario, allegedly stole and injured a flamingo, known as Peachy, from the hotel’s enclosure, injuring other flamingos in the process. He faces up to four years in prison.
Police received multiple 911 calls from hotel security in the early hours of March 3 reporting that someone had broken into the habitat and was seen holding a flamingo on the 14th floor.
“Basically, it started at 5:20 a.m., we got a phone call,” one of the 911 callers from the hotel’s staff told KVVU regarding their initial knowledge of the incident. “They said someone was carrying a flamingo down the hall.”
According to police, photos and video show him entering the enclosure, abducting Peachy, carrying the bird on the elevator and through hotel hallways to his room. Police say they found photo and video evidence on Fairbarn’s phone of him with and torturing Peachy and discovered “a large, bloody feather” and “a bad smell” in his hotel room.
“The safety and well-being of our iconic flock are of the utmost importance to us, and we will be pursuing charges against this individual to the fullest extent possible,” Caesars Entertainment, the owner of the Flamingo Hotel & Casino, said in a March statement. “Our beloved birds, including Peachy, who was cruelly taken from the habitat, are currently in the care of dedicated veterinarians and our extraordinary flamingo animal care team. We remain hopeful they will make a full recovery.”
Fairbarn admitted to police he was intoxicated and to trespassing but said he did so to help the bird.
“He stated he knows that ‘popping’ the wing back into its place [is] a common practice for birds, such as ducks,” police told KLAS in March. “He has knowledge of this because he is a farm boy.”
The tourist posted his $12,000 bail shortly after his arrest. The judge also ordered Fairbarn to not possess animals, surrender his passport, and stay away from the Strip corridor. He has been on house arrest in Las Vegas since and has reportedly been compliant.
On Aug. 12, Fairbarn filed a motion to end electronic monitoring, on the grounds that he is self-employed as a civil contractor, employs 15 people, and is the sole source of his family’s income. The motion also stated that his physical distance from his three minor children is impacting them and that Fairbarn was forced to miss his late father’s death and funeral in Canada.
On Aug. 24, the state argued that Fairbarn is a flight risk with no ties to Nevada, and that American law enforcement has no jurisdiction in Canada. The court agreed with the state on Aug. 25. Fairbarn is due in court next on Oct. 6.
