Former in-laws lock horns over stuffed deer head

A woman must return a stuffed deer head to her former father-in-law, according to a Wednesday, April 9 ruling from the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT).

Richard Alexander Woytowich demanded Aimee Woytowich, who had married and then divorced his son, to return the whitetail deer shoulder mount, worth $2,000, in good condition.

Richard Woytowitch claimed ownership of the deer mount and stored it at her property. She said it was given as a gift more than eight years ago. He to the CRT to settle the dispute.

Aimee Woytowich submitted she was willing to return the item, but would not allow Richard Woytowich on her property. She also refused to pay any of the costs to return it to him.

CRT member David Jiang’s decision said the dispute came to a head last July, when Aimee Woytowich emailed her ex-husband, telling him that she would dispose of the deer mount in 48 hours. He suggested leaving it on the patio for a mutually agreed person to pick it up.

She then texted Richard Woytowich’s spouse, who suggested that she leave it on the driveway or patio so that she could retrieve it.

“Mrs. Woytowich refused and said (the spouse) should hire a moving company to retrieve it,” Jiang wrote.

Jiang said there was no history of conflict between the two women, so any safety concerns that related to Richard Woytowich would not apply. He ordered Aimee Woytowich to return the deer mount to the man, at his home or a mutually agreed location, with three days notice.

The ruling does not mention where the specific deer was hunted, and CRT cases don't mention the BC locations where disputes take place.

WildSafeBC estimates there are approximately 65,000 whitetail deer in BC. The Ministry of Environment says that whitetails are most-abundant along valley bottoms in the Kootenays and Okanagan.

In Northern BC, whitetails “are most numerous along the Peace River and the lower reaches of tributaries like the Halfway, Beatton, Moberly, Pine and Kiskatinaw rivers.”