The present study examines the strategic responses of stock theft victims among the Ila of Zambia. Victims are compared at the point of theft and at subsequent key decision points to ascertain patterns of victimization as well as patterns of remedy agent notification. The explanatory power of demographic, sociological and cultural variables is discussed within an ideal decision-making flow chart. It is argued that victims' decisions to notify the police are largely constrained by traditional legal expectations about appropriate sanctions for cattle thieves. Here, the aims of stock theft victims conflict with those of the criminal justice system. It is suggested that the procedure for formal remedy agent notification could be substantially improved by incorporating non-criminal sanctions (e.g., compensation and restitution) invoked by tradition remedy agents. (Author abstract)