Jury Begins Deliberations in Peachy Flamingo Trial

A Clark County jury began deliberating Monday in the animal-cruelty trial of Mitchell Fairbarn, who is accused of taking a flamingo named Peachy from a Las Vegas resort habitat and injuring the bird. The jury’s verdict had not been reported by the time deliberations began. Closing arguments concluded shortly before 11:30 a.m. on October 19. Fairbarn, 33, from Ontario, Canada, faces two felony charges, according to the trial account. Authorities allege he entered the flamingo habitat at the Flamingo resort early on March 3, took Peachy to his hotel room and harmed the bird. Fairbarn testified that he had consumed roughly 30 to 40 beers and took Peachy as a prank, denying that he intended to hurt or kill the flamingo. He said he thought taking a photograph with the bird would be funny. He acknowledged that he should not have entered the enclosure and that Peachy was hurt, while maintaining he did not know how some of the bird’s feathers were lost. The veterinarian who treated Peachy testified that the flamingo had seven to eight missing feathers, damaged feather shafts and blood loss consistent with trauma. The bird required antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medication and weeks of...