A Las Vegas jury convicted Canadian tourist Mitchell Fairbarn of animal cruelty for snatching Peachy the flamingo from the Flamingo hotel's habitat.

Fairbarn admitted taking the bird, so the jury was never deciding whether he did it. It was deciding what it was. His side called it a drunken joke after 30 to 40 beers. Prosecutors pointed to video of him grabbing Peachy by the neck while his friends laughed, and to the bird's injuries. Jurors came back with a split answer: a felony for one part of the night, a misdemeanor for the other. Intoxication explains a bad idea. It did not excuse what happened to the bird.

A Clark County jury on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, convicted Mitchell Fairbarn, a 34-year-old tourist from Ontario, Canada, of two counts of cruelty to animals, one a felony and one a misdemeanor, 8 News Now reported. The case stems from the early morning of March 3, when Fairbarn was captured on surveillance video taking Peachy, a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo, from the wildlife habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, the station reported. Jurors deliberated about five hours on the only day of deliberations before District Judge Jacqueline Bluth, 8 News Now reported. The Associated Press reported that prosecutors called it a drunken and malicious act.

FOX5 Las Vegas reported that the two counts were split between what happened in the habitat and what happened in the hotel room, and that Fairbarn originally faced four counts before prosecutors narrowed the trial to Peachy. The jury of eight women and six men reviewed 112 exhibits and heard 14 witnesses, 8 News Now reported. Prosecutors Haley Willming and Alex Chen opened with surveillance video, photos and Snapchat clips showing Fairbarn smiling, laughing and grabbing the flamingo by the neck with two friends, FOX5 reported. Fairbarn spent about 15 minutes with the bird, including two to three minutes in a hotel room, before it was released into a hallway, 8 News Now reported.

Fairbarn testified that he took Peachy as a drunken "silly pranky joke" after drinking 30 to 40 beers and denied any intent to hurt or kill the bird, FOX5 reported. His defense attorney argued at trial that Fairbarn did not act with malice, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The habitat's veterinarian, Tiffany Moore, testified that Peachy lost a blood feather, had another broken and suffered inflammation on his right wing, and that holding the bird the way shown on video could cause respiratory distress, the Review-Journal reported. A veterinarian told jurors the flamingo has since recovered, 8 News Now reported.

Fairbarn listened to the verdict in court with his wife and a friend in the courtroom, FOX5 reported. He has been in custody since his March 3 arrest, 8 News Now reported. Sentencing is set for Dec. 1, FOX5 reported. The verdict can still be challenged on appeal. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.