Banned pesticide blamed in 19 bald eagle deaths

Maryland officials are cracking down on the use of a banned pesticide believed to have killed at least 19 bald eagles in the state since 2016. The state’s Agriculture Department issued an advisory to farmers not to use carbofuran, which was banned in the United States 10 years ago, the Baltimore Sun reported. Seven eagles have been found dead on the state’s Eastern Shore since March. Carbofuran was found in one of those eagles, a fox carcass and a great horned owl that was also recently found dead. “We are all very troubled by the continued use of this highly toxic banned pesticide,” state Agriculture Secretary Joe Bartenfelder said in a statement. “Carbofuran has been banned for a reason, and this trend of wildlife poisonings on the Eastern Shore is unacceptable.”

Read more in the Baltimore Sun.