A Canadian man accused of injuring a flamingo named Peachy at a Strip resort appeared in court Thursday.
Mitchell Fairbarn, 33, faces four counts of animal cruelty. He appeared before District Court Judge Tara Clark Newberry where his attorney, Josh Tomsheck, asked for an approximate two-week delay in arraignment.
Tomsheck told the judge he has met with prosecutors repeatedly about a possible plea deal to settle the case for his client. He said he is waiting for more records and that the delay was needed. The request was granted by the judge, with Fairbarn scheduled to return to court on June 23.
Police said that early on the morning of March 3, Fairbarn entered the flamingo enclosure at the Flamingo and took a bird back to his room.
Peachy, the 27-year-old flamingo who was injured, is expected to recover, said a veterinarian who treated her.
The Metropolitan Police Department said in a report that Fairbarn’s cell phone contained photos and videos of him torturing a flamingo in his hotel room by choking it and throwing it to the floor while laughing. In one video, he strangled a flamingo’s neck as the bird screamed and cried, records showed.
“Fairbarn is seen laughing in the video and saying ‘I’ll take it home’ as he goes back to his room,” police said in their arrest report.
He also clipped the wing of a bird he was hunting and tried to attach to the habitat, causing the bird to suffer pain and require stitches, according to the report.
The case has received a lot of attention in the media. John Waudby, founder of the group Nevada Animal Advocates, was in court Thursday to monitor the progress of the case.
“Finally to see Mitchell Fairbarn make an appearance,” Waudby said. “What he did was disgusting and despicable. There needs to be accountability for people who continue to harm our animals in our community.”
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@ theplayerlounge.com.
