Former state lawmaker, Joseph Bartenfelder, who has been serving as the State's agriculture secretary since 2015, was charged, along with his adult son and three others for illegally hunting wetland and upland wild birds from a cornfield in Caroline County. In addition to tracking with the aid of bait, Bartenfelder Jr. was also charged with hunting with a shotgun that holds more than three shells and for a federal waterfowl stamp violation. The Baltimore Banner first reported this story and says that it's not known if this is the secretary's first offense.  If it is he and the others charged could be fined up to $1,500 for each count. The secretary was charged by the Department of Natural Resources police who were pursuing a suspected baiting pond and discovered the individuals hunting in a cornfield on November 24, 2022

 

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