On Monday in Las Vegas a jury found Mitchell Fairbarn, a Canadian from Ontario, guilty of animal cruelty: one felony and one misdemeanour. In March he took the Chilean flamingo Peachy from the habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino and carried it to his room. A verdict, not a sentence. Dump BBC.

The BBC, citing CBS: 14 witnesses, more than 112 exhibits. The jury deliberated about five hours. Fairbarn, 34, said he had drunk 30 to 40 beers and thought it would be funny. His lawyer, Josh Tomsheck: drunk, stupid, bad decisions; no intent to harm. That is not a sentence.

Experts said the bird lost feathers and blood. The state’s veterinarian, according to the BBC: Peachy has largely recovered, but is more anxious around people. NBC named Tiffany Moore, of Lone Mountain Animal Hospital, and put the bird’s age at 27. Recovery, not a sentence.

The BBC wrote that he faces nearly five years in prison. The Review-Journal: up to four and a half years. The Associated Press: up to four years on the felony plus six months on the misdemeanour. Three clocks. Stay with felony plus misdemeanour, without a single year-count. Sentencing is on 1 December, before Judge Jacqueline Bluth. Until then, house arrest. He has been unable to leave the United States since his arrest.

Prosecutors spoke of wilful pain. The defence spoke of drunkenness, not malice. The jury returned guilt on the two cruelty counts. That is not December’s penalty.

Dump BBC. The rewrite rests on the BBC and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Image: Chilean flamingos in the Wildlife Habitat at Flamingo Las Vegas, 26 May 2018, Tomás Del Coro, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The habitat, not a photograph of Peachy from March.

Sources consulted: Canada man found guilty of animal cruelty in Las Vegas Strip flamingo abuse case — Las Vegas Review-Journal.