A Canadian man who made international headlines earlier this year after kidnapping and torturing a flamingo at a Las Vegas hotel has now been found guilty of animal cruelty.
Mitchell Fairbarn from Ontario was convicted Monday of felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after taking a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo named Peachy from the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on March 3, according to the Associated Press.
During the 33-year-old’s trial, which began Oct. 13, he admitted in court that he drank “30 to 40 beers” on the night of the incident.
Fairbarn’s defence lawyer argued that his client’s actions were the result of intoxication rather than intention to harm the animal, describing the incident as “bad decisions” made while drunk.
“I was trying to make an experience or a memory… I thought at the time that it would be some silly joke,” Fairbarn testified, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Prosecutors insisted that Fairbarn deliberately caused the bird physical pain, pointing to surveillance footage showing him carrying the squawking flamingo through the hotel and evidence of missing feathers and injuries.
When Peachy was found, local authorities reported that the bird was missing seven to eight feathers, had blood on its feathers, and had sustained wing injuries.
It only took jurors five hours to deliberate and reach a verdict, according to local media.
Now, Fairbarn faces up to four years in prison for the felony conviction, as well as a possible additional six months for the misdemeanor.
He remains under house arrest while awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for Dec. 1.
As for Peachy, he’s reportedly “doing well” physically, though veterinarian Tiffany Moore testified that the flamingo has shown increased anxiety and nervousness during examinations, AP reported.