The use of living organisms — or infectious agents derived from them — to disable or kill men, animals or plants in the pursuit of war. Such warfare, along with chemical warfare, was condemned in 1925 by the Geneva Convention, and the United Nations has endorsed this policy. Even so, some countries have experimented with possible biological agents, including those causing anthrax and botulism, with the intention of delivering them by land, sea or water-based missiles. These developments have prompted other countries to search for ways of annulling the lethal consequences of biological warfare.
Warfare in which disease-producing microorganisms, toxins, or organic biocides (e.g., anthrax, brucellosis, plague) are deliberately used to destroy, injure, or immobilize livestock, vegetation, or human life.