Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY NETWORK
Plenty of people who’ve made the trek to Las Vegas have ended up making some decisions they regret. That includes a tourist from Canada who was hit with criminal charges after injuring a flamingo he plucked from a wildlife habitat inside a casino so he could take some pictures with it back in his room.
It’s possible to leave Las Vegas with your dignity intact, but many visitors who head to Sin City seemingly make it their goal to engage in some absolutely idiotic behavior while hoping the “What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas” mantra applies to them.
A lot of them will end up heading to the airport with a hangover and significantly less money than they had when they arrived, but they can take a little bit of solace in knowing they’re not the first or last person to suffer that fate.
You may end up ruing some of the decisions you made, but if you can depart without feeling the need to declare bankruptcy or a criminal record you didn’t have a few days before, you’re doing much better than some of the poor souls who were able to avoid serious trouble—like one guy who ended up in jail for snatching a flamingo from inside The Flamingo.
A Canadian tourist was arrested and banned from the Las Vegas Strip for stealing a flamingo
The Flamingo is one of the oldest casinos in Las Vegas, as it opened its doors all the way back in 1946 and has come a very long way since a three-story hotel was added to the property the following year.
It currently boasts close to 3,500 rooms above the gaming floor that’s flanked by the restaurants, theaters, and other amenities you’d expect to find at one of those institutions. It also boasts a pretty unique feature in the form of the Wildlife Habitat, a four-acre garden that’s home to pelicans, swans, and, of course, flamingos.
That includes a pink bird named Peachy that was at the center of an incident that unfolded on Tuesday morning and led to a Canadian tourist landing in some legal trouble.
According to KLAS, 33-year-old Ontario resident Mitchell Fairbarn was hit with four counts of felony animal abuse after he barged into the habitat around 5 A.M. on Tuesday and absconded with Peachy, the flamingo that he was captured holding during a shirtless ride on the elevator back to his room.
Las Vegas Metro Police Department
Police also released some pictures they say were found on Fairbarn’s phone that showed him posing with the animal, which he eventually brought back to his room.
Las Vegas Metro Police Department
They allegedly found a video that showed him “torturing” the flamingo he pledged to bring back to Canada with him and discovered “a large bloody feather” when they searched his room after responding to the call about the avian theft.
Fairbarn told police he was initially inspired to make his way into the habitat after seeing a flamingo in distress, claiming he was attempting to do a good deed by popping its wing back into place (noting it was “a common practice for birds, such as ducks,” which he knew as a self-described “farm boy”).
His bail was set at $12,000 when he appeared in court, and the judge ordered him to surrender his passport, stay off The Strip, and refrain from having any more animals in his possession.
The casino issued a statement concerning the status of Peachy and the other birds that were injured when he barged into the habitat, saying:
“We are aware of the deeply distressing incident involving a guest who was arrested for breaking into our wildlife habitat and assaulting our flamingos. The safety and well-being of our iconic flock are of the utmost importance to us, and we will be pursuing charges against this individual to the fullest extent possible.
Our beloved birds, including Peachy, who was cruelly taken from the habitat, are currently in the care of dedicated veterinarians and our extraordinary Flamingo animal care team. We remain hopeful they will make a full recovery.”
Here’s to hoping that’s the case.