It is narrated from Hazrat Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him) that he heard the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: Whoever kills a minor child or an extremely elderly man in the battlefield, or sets fire to a garden, or cuts down a fruit-bearing tree, or slaughters a goat merely to obtain its skin, then he has not returned equally (i.e., he has not returned with equal recompense).
Hadith Referenceمسند احمد / مسند الأنصار رضي الله عنهم / 22368
Hadith Gradingحکم دارالسلام:إسناده ضعيف، ابن لهيعة سيئ الحفظ، وشيخه لم يسمّه