Oct 22, 2026
It started as a joke. After a long day of drinking on a work trip to Las Vegas, a contractor from rural Ontario wandered into the wildlife habitat at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino around 5 am, grabbed a 27-year-old Chilean flamingo named Peachy and carried her up to his hotel room.
Seven months later, Mitchell Fairbarn has found himself a convicted felon in Nevada. He hasn’t been home since March, and the bill for that one night is still growing.
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It’s an extreme (kinda funny, but also not) case — but the money lesson isn’t. When Canadians break the law abroad, even on drunken impulse, the costs land on them alone. Not on their insurer and not on Ottawa.
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What happened to the Canadian who took a Las Vegas flamingo?
On Oct. 19, a Clark County jury convicted Fairbarn of one felony and one misdemeanour count of animal cruelty. Fairbarn told the court he thought taking the bird would be funny.
He testified he’d had 30 to 40 beers over 24 hours while in town for a construction expo. Peachy’s veterinarian testified the bird lost seven to eight feathers, suffered blood loss consistent with trauma and needed weeks of pain medication in the wake of the excursion she took to Fairbarn’s hotel room.
Fairbarn remains in custody ahead of a Dec. 1 sentencing hearing. He is facing up to four years in prison for the felony, plus six months for the misdemeanour.
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How much can one drunken mistake abroad cost?
The prison term is only part of the damage the drunken antics caused. The day after his arrest, a judge set bail at US$12,000 and ordered Fairbarn to surrender his passport and stay in Las Vegas.
That means more than seven months unable to return to Ontario — and to his job. For a self-employed Canadian, that’s income he’ll never get back.
Then there’s the defence. Fairbarn hired a private lawyer and opted for a jury trial. His fees haven’t been made public, but Global Affairs Canada, the federal department responsible for consular services, warns in its guide for Canadians detained abroad that top lawyers in any country charge high fees.
Will travel insurance or the Canadian government cover legal costs abroad?
In short, no, it won’t. Global Affairs Canada states that consular officials cannot post bail, pay lawyers’ fees or pay fines for Canadians arrested abroad. They also can’t arrange for your release or intervene in another country’s court case.
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Travel insurance won’t fill the gap either. Insurance policies typically exclude losses tied to illegal acts and heavy drinking. The travel coverage on the CIBC Aeroplan Visa Infinite card, for example, excludes claims arising from committing a criminal act or from alcohol or drug abuse. Allianz Global Assistance, an international travel insurance and assistance provider, lists abuse of alcohol or drugs as a general exclusion across its coverage for trip interruption.
So a trip that runs far longer than planned because of an arrest isn’t an insured “interruption.” It’s an out-of-pocket expense.
Can a conviction abroad affect future trips to the U.S.?
It can but not necessarily. Canadians with certain criminal convictions may be found inadmissible to the U.S. and need a waiver to visit. The U.S. government fee for that waiver, Form I-192, is US$1,100, under the federal immigration fee schedule — before any legal help is engaged to prepare it.
Whether a specific conviction triggers inadmissibility depends on how U.S. immigration law classifies the offence. That’s a question for an immigration lawyer, not a guess you take to the border.
What to do now
Most Canadians will never be tempted to steal a flamingo. But a cheap night out can still turn into a costly legal problem. Before your next trip:
- Assume local law applies and stay within the bounds of the law
- Read your policy’s exclusions and look for clauses on alcohol, drugs and illegal acts before you leave, not after you file a claim
- Keep emergency savings within reach in case you need access to funds quickly
- Know what to do if you’re arrested: ask local authorities to notify the nearest Canadian government office — they don’t have to unless you ask
- Travel with people who will stop you from making an expensive mistake: Fairbarn’s friends testified they’d been out drinking, too.
Fairbarn’s own lawyer offered the most useful summary in court. “Mitch was drunk. Mitch was stupid. He made bad decisions,” Joshua Tomsheck told jurors. It’s a costly reminder that what happens in Vegas can follow you home.
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Leslie Kennedy served as an editor at Thomson Reuters and for Star Media Group, followed by a number of years as a writer and editor and content manager in marketing communications, before returning to her editorial roots. She is a graduate of Humber College’s post-graduate journalism program and has been a professional writer and editor ever since.
