Woman Arrested for Stealing, Abusing Baby Duck From Venetian Fountain

^{Surveillance images show Destiny Reyes walking along The Venetian and Palazzo with baby duck Daffy before officers arrived to arrest her. (Photo: courtesy of LVMPD)}

LAS VEGAS – Las Vegas Metro police have arrested a woman after she climbed into a fountain at the Venetian Resort on the Las Vegas Strip and stole a baby duck. The duck, a female named “Daffy,” was left with visible injuries to her right wing as a result of the abuse in the incident. 

Destiny Reyes, 29, is in custody at the Clark County Detention Center on two counts of willful or malicious torture, maiming, or mutilation of an animal. She is being held on $6,000 bail. 

Daffy Duck Abuse Caught on Camera

Police responded to reports from Venetian security around 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Security officers reported seeing a woman climb into the fountain, grab a duck, and toss it back and forth before Metro arrived.

Surveillance footage showed Reyes walking on the Strip with Daffy in hand, throwing the duck from one hand to the other, and forcefully shaking her. At one point, Reyes lost control of the duck, dropping her onto the concrete. The footage also caught Reyes smacking the duck and forcibly spreading her wings.

According to officers on the scene, Reyes was “immediately uncooperative” when they made contact with her and was described in the arrest report as "belligerent, and refused to speak about the incident.”

Officers safely secured Daffy and arrested Reyes. Though the duck was rescued, the arrest report stated that officers found her shaking in pain with a wing so sensitive that it couldn't be touched.

"Destiny showed no remorse and no regard for 'Daffy,'" the police report states. "She took this animal out of her natural place of stay and put her through stress and pain for no reason at all."

Surveillance videos of Reyes abusing the duck has not been publicly released at this time, and Reyes has a court hearing scheduled for Monday, June 15.

2nd Case of Animal Abduction at Strip Casino This Year

The incident at the Venetian fountains will be the second time in 2026 that a visitor has been arrested for allegedly abusing an animal at a Las Vegas casino property. In March, 33-year-old Canadian tourist Mitchell Fairbarn was charged with four counts of felony animal cruelty for breaking into the wildlife habitat at the Flamingo and abusing several flamingos, one of which he brought back to his room. 

Fairbarn told police he had been drinking that night and claimed that the reason he brought a flamingo to his room was to "pop" its wing back into place. He was required to surrender his passport and was subsequently banned from all Caesars properties.

Though Reyes is a Las Vegas resident and not a tourist, she may face similar punishments. Under Nevada law, willful or malicious torture or unjustifiable injury of an animal can be charged as a felony under NRS 574.100. 

It won’t be surprising if Reyes is slammed with a property ban similar to what Fairbarn received from Caesars. The outcome of her case will ultimately depend on the evidence in the arrest report and the surveillance footage.

Both incidents raise a practical question about security at casino properties with accessible animal habitats and water features. More security may have prevented a guest from entering the Flamingo's wildlife habitat, removing a flamingo, and bringing it to a hotel room without being stopped. In Reyes's case, Venetian security did observe the theft and alerted Metro police, but the duck had already been removed from the fountain by the time officers arrived.