Vegas tourist who took Peachy the flamingo from hotel exhibit is found guilty of animal cruelty

LAS VEGAS — A jury convicted a Canadian man of animal cruelty charges on Monday afternoon for snatching a flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure at an iconic Las Vegas hotel in what prosecutors called a drunken and malicious act.

Prosecutors said tourist Mitchell Fairbarn harmed the bird at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino when he took it to his room on March 3. The man’s defense attorney had told jurors at trial in a Nevada court that the man committed a foolish act while intoxicated but he intended no harm to the bird.

Jurors returned convictions on felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty counts against the tourist from Ontario, Canada. Fairbarn remained in custody pending a Dec. 1 sentencing hearing. He faces up to four years in prison for the felony plus six months of jail time for the misdemeanor conviction.

Since then the incident, the 27-year-old Chilean flamingo has been doing all right physically but is more anxious and nervous when being evaluated, said Peachy’s veterinarian, Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital.

Video played at the trial showed Fairbarn holding the flamingo in an elevator and carrying it down a hotel hallway at the…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health