Illegally hunting or fishing for animals; or cooking food by simmering it gently in liquid.
From Old French 'pocher' meaning to thrust or poke. The word developed two meanings: one for hunting (from the poaching motion), and one for cooking (from the 'poaching' of eggs in water).
Wildlife poaching is an $23 billion illegal industry worldwide—it's one of the most destructive crimes, and elephant and rhino populations have crashed because of it, yet it remains less discussed than other crimes, possibly because it happens in remote areas far from most people.
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