Bava Kamma 76 - A Thief Dedicates the Stolen Animal to the Temple (Torts)

If one stole an ox or a sheep, consecrated it to the Temple, and then slaughtered or sold it, he pays a twofold payment for stealing but doesn't pay the four- or fivefold.

Why not? Granted, when he slaughters it, it's the Temple's property, not the original owner.

But when he consecrates it, let this be equivalent to selling a stolen animal to the Temple – thus making him liable for a fourfold or fivefold payment? No! Consecration differs from a sale: after consecration, the animal is still called "A sacrifice of so-and-so," not a "sacrifice of the Temple."

Art: David Garrick and his Wife by his Temple to Shakespeare at Hampton by Johann Zoffany