"Cow Thief Skank" is a 1973 single written and produced by Jamaican reggae musician Lee Perry and credited to his studio band the Upsetters.

Released in Jamaica through Justice League and in the United Kingdom through Upsetter Records, it is one of Perry's series of 'skank' singles and is a duet between him and deejay Charlie Ace.

[3] Chris Willman of The Mercury News contextualised the "influential" track within Perry's career, noting that in the early 1970s, the producer had begun "concentrating more on the art of remixing, toasting over his studio creations".

[6] Marcus Boon of Michigan State University Press considers the cow sounds on the track to exemplify "the use of collage and editing in Jamaican reggae.

[5] Michael de Koningh writes that the "mad" track was ultimately one of several of Perry's "beloved skanks" issued by Trojan Records (the distributor of the Upsetter imprint), another being "Jungle Lion" (1973).

[9] A contemporary review in Westminster and Pimlico News grouped it alongside Tommy McCook and Bob Ellis' collaborative single "Bad Cow Skank" as farm-related reggae songs.

"[16][17] In an article for Passion of the Weiss, Lough considers the "brilliant" track to be among Perry's most mysterious, adding: "The beat is formed from 3 songs cut-up together – the first time in history that had ever been done before.

[21] As Jonathan Takiff of Philadelphia Daily News comments, the track is often considered to be "the first hip-hop-style record", for its cutting of separate, purloined breaks and beats.

"[13] Muzik, writing in 1999, described "Cow Thief Skank" as "pretty much as mad as [Perry] was", commenting that "it's full of absolutely bonkers noises and mooing.

[25][1] In his review for Plan B, Everett True considered them to be the most astounding tracks on the album, highlighting "the concrete tape edits" of "Cow Thief Skank" for being "close to Faust territory".

[4] In 2021, Rolling Stone included "Cow Thief Skank" in their list of Perry's "10 Essential Songs"; contributor Matos commented: "Its try-anything sensibility and random mooing make it one of a kind.