The deliberate placing of a poisoned bait, or the direct application of a toxic substance, to kill a wild animal, most extensively documented against birds of prey such as eagles and other raptors, which are frequently poisoned by a bait intended for a predator such as a fox or coyote or targeted directly because they are seen as a threat to game birds or livestock. United Kingdom law enforcement identifies raptor poisoning as one of its national wildlife crime priorities under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and the practice is documented as especially harmful because a poisoned bait left in open countryside is indiscriminate, capable of killing any bird, mammal, pet or person that encounters it rather than only its intended target.
Facts
Elements of OffenseSetting in position a poisonous, poisoned or stupefying substance so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild bird coming into contact with it 1 Classification
Offense GradeMinor or Summary Offense 1 Connections
Sources
1. Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, section 5
Section 5(1)(a)
any poisonous, poisoned or stupefying substance
In Group: Poaching, Wildlife Trafficking and Harm to Animals, Section text
(a) sets in position any of the following articles, being an article which is of such a nature and is so placed as to be calculated to cause bodily injury to any wild bird coming into contact therewith, that is to say, any springe, trap, gin, snare, hook and line, any electrical device for killing, stunning or frightening or any poisonous, poisoned or stupefying substance;
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