A Canadian man was convicted of animal cruelty charges on Monday for snatching a flamingo named Peachy from its enclosure at an iconic Las Vegas hotel.
asserted
man → convict → hotel
Prosecutors said it was a malicious prank while a lawyer for the tourist insisted it was drunken foolishness not meant to harm the bird.
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it → say → bird
Prosecutors said tourist Mitchell Fairbarn hurt and frightened the 27-year-old Chilean flamingo when he took it from its habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and carried the squawking bird to his room on 3 March.
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he → say → March
Defense attorney Josh Tomsheck told jurors at trial in a Nevada court that the man deeply regretted the “bad decisions” he made while intoxicated.
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he → tell → decisions
After about five hours of deliberations, jurors returned convictions on felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty counts against the Ontario, Canada, man.
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jurors → return → man
Fairbarn remains under house arrest pending a sentencing hearing set for 1 December.
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Fairbarn → remain → December
He faces up to four years in prison for the felony and possibly six more months for the misdemeanor conviction.
uncertain
He → face → conviction
Following the verdict, he declined to comment as he left the courtroom with his wife.
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he → follow → wife
He showed no visible emotion.
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He → show → emotion
His lawyer also had no comment.
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lawyer → have → comment
After the incident, the flamingo was mostly unharmed but is more anxious and nervous when being evaluated, said Peachy’s veterinarian, Tiffany Moore, medical director of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital.
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veterinarian → evaluate → Hospital
Prosecutors told jurors earlier that Fairbarn willfully caused the bird physical pain, noting feathers were found on the hotel floor.
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feathers → tell → floor
Video showed the bird squawking while Fairbarn handled it and prosecutors said Peachy felt pain when it was pulled by its feet.
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it → show → feet
Video played at the trial showed Fairbarn holding the flamingo in an elevator and carrying it down a hotel hallway at the famous hotel.
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Fairbarn → play → hotel
The Flamingo is one of the oldest hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, and its well-known flamingo habitat also features hummingbirds, turtles, koi and other species.
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habitat → know → hummingbirds
Peachy was missing some feathers after being taken.
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Peachy → miss → feathers
Las Vegas police responded to the scene after security staff reported that someone had taken the flamingo.
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someone → respond → flamingo
When Peachy was located, it was missing seven to eight feathers, had blood on its feathers and injuries to its wings, authorities said.
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authorities → locate → wings
Taking the bird was “dumb” and “fueled by drunkenness”, the defense attorney Tomsheck said.
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Tomsheck → take → drunkenness
But he added that his client never intended any harm to the bird, a key element in the felony charge.
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client → add → charge
“He should not have done that, should not have gone into the habitat, shouldn’t have touched a bird, shouldn’t have taken Peachy inside,” Tomsheck said.
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Tomsheck → do → Peachy
He made bad decisions.”
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He → make → decisions
Fairbarn could be seen in court at one point with head lowered, hands covering his eyes.
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hands → see → eyes
The man had received death threats after taking the flamingo, and he was unable to leave the US when his father died while Fairbarn was awaiting trial, said Haley Willming, the Clark county prosecutor.
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Willming → receive → trial
While those events were unfortunate, the prosecutor said, “none of that would have happened had he not done what he did, had he not made the choices he made”.
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he → say → choices
Jurors began deliberating shortly before midday after closing arguments on Monday morning.
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Jurors → begin → morning
Nevada animal rights advocate John Waudby, who recently helped strengthen the state’s animal cruelty laws, said he believes justice was delivered on Peachy’s behalf.
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justice → help → behalf
“I hope this sends a message to anybody else that wants to mess with our animals, that you’re not going to do it in Nevada,” he said outside the courtroom after Monday’s verdict.
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he → hope → verdict
The Aporia
