Canadian businessman Mitchell Fairbairn is on trial in Las Vegas over allegations that he removed Peachy, a Chilean flamingo, from the wildlife habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on March 3. Fairbairn testified that he had consumed between 30 and 40 beers and described taking the bird as a drunken prank, while denying that he intended to hurt or kill it. Authorities allege Peachy suffered a wing injury requiring stitches and Fairbairn faces four felony counts.
Closing arguments are expected Monday before the case goes to the jury. Newsweek contacted the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department via email for comment on Monday. Fairbairn is a 34-year-old businessman from Ontario, Canada, who is married and has three children, the Daily Mail reported.
He said he traveled to Las Vegas to attend ConExpo, an international construction exhibition. Fairbairn testified that he had considered skipping the trip after his father was diagnosed with cancer in December 2025. During his testimony, Fairbairn emphasized his experience with animals.
He said he grew up on farms, owns dogs and a parrot named Sonny, and has previously rescued an abandoned llama and six ducks. That background became part of his explanation for why he entered the Flamingo hotel's wildlife habitat in the early hours of March 3. In video footage from the courtroom, shown by FOX5 Las Vegas, he said his family has been affected by his actions.
"Everything from having properties getting broken into to death threats," he said, adding that he "changed the kids' schools." Fairbairn testified that he had spent March 2 drinking and gambling and estimated that he consumed between 30 and 40 beers before arriving at the habitat at around 5 a.m. He said he was drunk, sleep-deprived and on the phone when he noticed what appeared to be a flamingo with uneven wings. Although Fairbairn acknowledged he should not have entered the enclosure, he claimed he went inside after thinking something might be wrong with one of the birds.
Fairbairn said he initially sat beside a different flamingo before picking up Peachy for a photograph as part of what he called a "silly pranky joke." "I thought it would be, at the time, funny," he testified. According to his account, he carried Peachy to his hotel room and kept the bird there for "two or three minutes" before leaving it in the hallway. Fairbairn said he was changing clothes and preparing to return the animal when he was arrested.
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