Canadian Man Found Guilty of Animal Cruelty for Stealing Flamingo in Las Vegas

Videos presented during the trial showed Fairbarn smiling as he carried the flamingo by its neck while taking a lift to his room. Fairbarn testified that he had consumed between 30 and 40 beers before the incident and insisted that he had no intention of harming the bird. Animal experts told the court that Peachy suffered torn feathers and blood loss as a result of his actions.

Fairbarn’s lawyer, Josh Tomsheck, described the incident as a misguided prank and attributed his client’s behaviour to excessive alcohol consumption. Acknowledging the seriousness of the actions, Tomsheck said Fairbarn should not have entered the bird’s habitat, touched the animal or taken it away. He added that his client had been drunk and had made a series of bad decisions.