A Canadian tourist has been slapped with animal abuse charges after police accused him of stealing a flamingo from an iconic Strip hotel in Las Vegas. 

Mitchell Fairbarn, 33, of Ontario, Canada, faces four counts of felony animal abuse after breaking into an enclosure and taking the bird to his hotel room, where he later allegedly tortured it, according to court reports.

On Tuesday, 3 March, Metro police responded to a call from the Flamingo hotel regarding Fairbarn, who is accused of trespassing into the property’s Flamingo Wildlife Habitat and harming several birds. 

Police reviewed CCTV footage, which they said showed Fairbarn entering the habitat at around 5am and grabbing a Chilean flamingo named ‘Peachy’.

While attempting to remove Peachy from the enclosure, the tourist is said to have injured a number of birds, including ‘pinning down’ a second bird and not allowing it to escape. 

Mitchell Fairbarn, 33, of Ontario, Canada, has been slapped with felony animal abuse charges after allegedly stealing a flamingo from a habitat at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas 

Pictured: The Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, where the incident allegedly happened 

Surveillance footage further shows a shirtless Fairbarn getting into a lift with the bird – which can be seen wrapped in a shirt – before wrangling it by the neck and legs in the corridor as he makes his way back to his hotel room. 

According to reports, the tourist later admitted to trespassing into the flamingo habitat after seeing a bird in distress, and claimed that he had ‘popped’ the animal’s wing into place.

Police said: ‘He stated he knows that “popping” the wing back into its place [is] a common practice for birds, such as ducks. He has knowledge of his because he is a farm boy.’ 

However, police located a number of photos and videos on Fairbarn’s phone, which allegedly show him chocking the flamingo and throwing it onto the floor. 

In one clip, he reportedly laughs while declaring that he is ‘taking [the bird] home’. 

In CCTV footage, a shirtless Fairbarn can be seen wrangling the bird by the neck and legs 

Police said they later found a ‘large bloody feather’ while animal control claims Peachy has suffered a wing injury due to the wing being ‘pulled’ from its body 

Inside the tourist’s hotel room, police later stumbled across a ‘large bloody feather’ along with other material. 

According to animal control, Peachy is said to have suffered a wing injury due to the wing being ‘pulled’ from its body, resulting in stiches. At least two other flamingos were injured in the habitat. 

Fairbarn was subsequently arrested on charges of animal torture and currently faces four felony counts of torturing, maiming or killing an animal kept for companionship or pleasure.

He has been ordered to stay away from the Las Vegas Strip after posting a $12,000 (£9k) bail as of Thursday, 5 March, as reported by 8 News Now. 

On Wednesday, Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns the Flamingo hotel, issued a statement, in which they called the incident ‘deeply distressing’. 

The statement said: ‘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 are hopeful they will make a full recovery.’