A Global Crime and World Hunger

The problems of livestock theft in Tuva: History and modernity (ethnic and legal aspects)

“…Studying the differences in the criminological portrait of a animal thief criminal in Tuva and other regions of the world, the changing landscape of crime should be noted: traditional features, to one degree or another which determine criminal motives, give way to mercenary ones. India is a striking example, where cows, recognized as sacred animals, are increasingly becoming the object of criminal encroachments (Masiola and Tomei 2015). Livestock theft in African countries, previously often associated with traditional motives, is gradually disappearing.…”

“…The history of cattle theft in the USA also has some peculiarities, rare in our time, but taking place in the past. During the Great Depression in the USA, livestock theft in the suburbs was carried out by injecting animals with anaesthesia, becoming a new criminal practice (Masiola and Tomei 2015).…”

“…The interviews conducted in this study also did not confirm the existence of such cases. It should be noted that in Tuva, animal theft is not associated with murders (typical, for example, in Kenya), which also significantly characterizes the personality of the criminal and provides additional data for the formation of his criminological portrait (Masiola and Tomei 2015). In this respect, it would be permissible to assert that the traditional attitude of Tuvans towards animals does not allow one to perceive livestock exclusively as an object of commodity circulation, but rather as an integral part of the general culture, limiting the toolkit of criminal encroachments.…”