2015年经济学人 农场里的失窃案 与羊有关（在线收听）

Rural thefts

农场里的失窃案

On the lamb

与羊有关

The revival of an old crime

旧罪新犯

CRIME has been falling in Britain since the mid-1990s, with very few exceptions. Police fret about rising online fraud and phishing scams perpetuated by sophisticated global criminal networks. And then there's sheep rustling.

自上世纪九十年代中期起，英国的犯罪率不断下降，只有极少数个案。但警方担心，全球的精密犯罪网络影响下带来的的网络诈骗和网络钓鱼犯罪数量会上升。然后就有了顺手牵羊。

Between 2010 and 2011 the cost of thefts of farm animals shot up by 170%, according to NFU Mutual, which insures three-quarters of Britain's farmers. They were up again last year, by a more modest 4%, when about 69,000 sheep were stolen. The rise continues, says the insurer. Over the past three years ￡413,530 ($676,000) worth of livestock, mostly sheep, has been stolen in Cumbria. In November police in the north Pennines held a kind of reverse identification parade, asking farmers if any sheep recovered from thieves had been pilfered from their fields.

全国农场主联合会保障了全国四分之三的农场主，根据这个联合会的数据，2010年至2011年间，农场畜牧的被窃成本飙升170%。去年，将近6万9千头羊被顺走，被窃成本再次上升了4%。保险公司说，被窃成本还将继续上升。在过去的3年间，坎布里亚郡有将近价值413，530英镑（约合67.6万美元）的牲畜被偷走，而且大部分都是羊。十一月，奔宁山北部的警察举办了一个类似反向识别的游行，问农场主是否有羊从他们的农场被偷走。

August is a particularly bad time for thefts, says Steve Marsh of Dorset Police. Lambs are fat and ready for slaughter. Thieves rarely have land on which to graze large herds so they need animals ready to eat. Most are slaughtered quickly, he reckons, either in makeshift abattoirs or in slaughterhouses willing to overlook the animals' lack of paperwork. The meat is then sold illegally. Unlike other easily nickable items, such as DVD players, the price of lamb has risen, making it an appetising option. In the legal market, prices have gone up from ￡6.77 a kilo in 2009 to ￡7.86, according to Kantar Worldpanel, a research firm.

多赛特郡警察局的马什说，八月份是偷窃案极其猖獗的月份。羊羔们都长得肥肥壮壮等着被宰。小偷们没有地方饲养大群牲畜，所以他们需要直接就可以吃的牲口。大部分被偷的牲畜很快就会被宰杀，马什认为，要么是临时屠宰场，要么是非法屠宰厂会接受没有相关证件的牲畜。然后肉也会被非法的卖掉。不像其他容易被偷的东西，比如DVD播放器，羊肉价格上涨了，使偷羊成为了一个极有诱惑力的选项。根据消费者指数研究所的数据，在合法的农贸市场，羊肉价格从2009年的6.77英镑涨到了7.86英镑。

The nature of modern farming makes livestock rustling fairly easy. Sheep are often grazed in isolated fields far from the farmstead, or on common land where they are vulnerable to raiders. Farmers can no longer keep constant watch over their flocks. At least 160 sheep were stolen in the village of Wool in Dorset in early November. Police say they were nabbed between 8am on one Saturday and 2.30pm on the following Monday; they can narrow down the time no further.

现代化放牧的特性使得偷窃牲畜相当容易。羊群常常在远离农场的一小片单独地域吃草，或聚在易被小偷得手公共草地。农场主已不再频繁看管他们的牧群。11月初，多赛特郡羊毛村至少有160头羊失窃。警方说，盗贼在一周六上午8点到下周一下午两点半之间得手的；而且不能再进一步的准确界定时间范围了。

Meanwhile other rural thefts decline. Thieves used to winch tractors onto lorries before taking them to sell in eastern Europe, says Tim Price of NFU Mutual. But security on tractors has improved. Until recently the same key could be used to start vehicles on different farms. Manufacturers have fixed this and also added engine immobilisers. Insurance claims are declining. Stealing scrap metal is harder, too: dealers must now verify sellers' identities and are no longer allowed to pay them in cash. Sheep rustling looms larger as a result.

同时，其他的农村失窃数量下降了。全国农场主联合会的普莱斯说，盗贼们过去会用绞车将拖拉机拉上卡车，然后卖往东欧地区，但是拖拉机的安全系数有所提高，失窃率也降低了，直到最近同一把钥匙可以开两个不同农场的机动车。生产商已经解决了这个问题，并且还加上了发动机防盗系统。保险申诉变少了。偷金属废料也变得更困难：现在经销商必须要卖家的身份验证，而且不再允许用现金支付。这样顺手牵羊事件就凸现出来了。

The thieves know what they are doing, says Rory Stewart, MP for Penrith and the Border, an area with a rich history of sheep theft (Wat Scott of Harden, a legendary Renaissance rustler, is said to have roared at a haystack: “By my soul, had ye but four feet ye shouldna stand long there”). They understand how to handle the animals and probably use quad bikes to round them up and shepherd them into lorries. They target sheep because unlike cattle, which have electronic ID tags and passports, sheep simply have ear tags which are easy to remove. The shear audacity.

边界线附近彭里斯郡在历史上就常常出现羊失窃的事件，下院议员斯图尔特说，小偷知道自己在干什么， 他们知道对付牲口的方法：用四轮车把他们将羊群集合起来，然后再赶进卡车，他们总偷羊，是因为羊不像牛一样有电子身份标签和护照，羊只有简单的耳签，而且还很容易去掉。所以偷羊贼们胆子愈发大了。