At least seven bald eagles killed by Maryland banned pesticide

May 3, 2019, 17:16 UTC

By David K. Li

At least seven bald eagles have been killed in the last nine weeks on the east coast of Maryland after the few birds have been exposed to a powerful illegal pesticide for a decade, officials said Friday.

Six of them died in Kent County after ingesting carbofuran, which had previously been sold under the Furadan trade name, according to a statement from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Maryland Natural Resources.

On April 3, authorities found three sick bald eagles in Talbot Country after feeding the carcass of a red fox suspected of being killed by carbofuran. One of these eagles has since died.

Carbofuran was once a popular agricultural pesticide used against foxes and raccoons. Its use has been banned since 2009 because it was so powerful that it ended up killing animals that are not targeted by this use, officials said.

Nevertheless, it can be easily purchased online and farmers would have stocks of the banned substance even a decade later, authorities said.

The use of the illegal pesticide could result in fines of up to $ 25,000 under state law, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

"It is hard to believe that not one person has information about people who have placed a poisonous poison that has killed no less than twenty eagles in these areas," said Jay Pilgrim, US agent in the field of fishing and fishing. fauna, in a statement. if local communities communicate information ".

Although bald eagles are no longer listed under the Endangered Species Act, they are still rare and protected by federal law.