In Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, the Rebel Alliance sent a strike team to the planet of Endor, which the Ewoks (See photo of the lovable Ewok named Wicket to the right) inhabit, in their fight against the Galactic Empire. Shortly after landing on the planet they were making their way to their objective (i.e., the Empire's bunker that is the source of the protective "invisible" shield for the Death Star battle station orbiting Endor). At one point Chewbacca's senses were heightened and he clamored toward a dead animal carcass. The rest of the strike team approaches also and Han Solo says to Chewbacca, "Always thinking with your stomach." (click link for Han's audio). Turns out the carcass was bait for a trap set by the Ewok's and as Chewbacca grabbed at the carcass it set off the trap and the strike team was swooped up into a net and lifted into the air. The Ewok's arrived shortly thereafter and took the strike team as "prisoners."
One source of international law that regulates the conduct of hostilities that may be applicable to the above scenario is the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended May 3, 1996 (Amended Protocol II). Amended Protocol II article 7 prohibits "the use of booby-traps and other devices" involving "(j) animals or their carcasses." It should be noted that booby-traps are commonly understood as a device designed to kill or maim an unsuspecting combatant.
As an initial matter there are some questions of law applicability here. First, from a temporal view Amended Protocol II was adopted in 1996 whereas Return of the Jedi, which premiered in 1983, states in the opening sequence that the story takes place "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . . ." As such, the provisions of the Amended Protocol II can not reach back in time to regulate the conduct of hostilities. Second, related to the temporal issue, the parties to the conflict in Return of the Jedi are, arguably, the Ewok's, the Rebel Alliance, and the Galactic Empire but given that international law is based on party consent (i.e., choosing to become a party to a particular treaty or convention) these parties could not have consented to be bound by the provisions in Amended Protocol II because it did not exist at the time of the conflict.
Assuming arguendo that the Amended Protocol II does apply to the scenario in Return of the Jedi, is the use of the animal carcass a violation of international law? It would seem that it is not, for at least two reasons.
First, as alluded to above, the Ewoks at the time of the booby-trap scene are not a "party" to the conflict. The conflict during the movie is between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. However, subsequent to the booby-trap scene the Ewoks do join forces with the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire. Given that Amended Protocol II's provisions are designed to regulate the conduct of hostilities among parties to a conflict and as such the Ewoks did not violate its provisions because at the time of the booby-trap scene the Ewoks were not a party to the conflict. Essentially this is third law applicability question as discussed above but given that it was more specific to the Ewoks I have discussed it separately.
The second reason why it seem the Ewoks are not in violation of Amended Protocol II is based on the nature of how the carcass was employed. In essence, the Ewoks set out the carcass as bait to lure another creature to be drawn and captured into a giant net. This does not comport with the definition of booby-traps that are designed to kill or maim a combatant. Instead the Ewoks employed a "live trap" wherein the captured individuals were not killed or harmed and as a result this seems to be outside the reach of what Amended Protocol II is designed to regulate. This is not to say that the Ewoks are entirely innocent. I mentioned above that the Ewoks took the strike team as prisoners, but this is not really true as they were taken back to the village and were being prepared by the Ewoks to be cooked for dinner. This further evidences that the trap the Ewoks set was not part of their participation in hostilities but rather as a means to sustain themselves nutritionally.
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