Is it permissible to poison horses that eat from and damage wheat crops, when their owners are unknown, and this is the only way to protect the crop?
The crop owner must guard his crops by day, and the livestock owner must guard his livestock by night. Whoever falls short in guarding bears responsibility for the animals' destruction of others' crops. This is supported by what Muhayyisah narrated from Al-Bara' ibn Azib: "It is incumbent upon the owners of property to guard it by day, and upon the owners of livestock to guard it by night." If livestock enters one's land, he must prevent them and remove them by the easiest means. It is not permissible for him to kill them; if he does so, he shall be disciplined and guarantee the animal's value.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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