QAMANITTUAQ/BAKER LAKE - No charges will be laid against a Baker Lake conservation officer who was found in violation of the Nunavut Wildlife Act after killing muskoxen out of season in a no-hunting area.

According to assistant director of wildlife operations Chris Hotson, on Sept. 10, the officer and another individual allegedly shot and killed two muskoxen about 40 km east of Baker Lake. The incident was reported on Sept. 11.

The subsequent investigation found the officer had violated the Nunavut Wildlife Act, but charges were not laid because the officer had not been adequately trained, Hotson said.

The individual was the only conservation officer employed in Baker Lake at the time and had been on the job for approximately one month, he said.

"The facts and issues in this case indicated that although infraction occurred, the person had done all the appropriate things to the best of his knowledge based on what training and information that was given him," he said.

He said the officer was sent to Rankin Inlet for further training directly following the incident.

"One of the things we did in the immediate aftermath was to pull that officer out and give him additional training in a different community," Hotson said.

He said the officer and other individuals in the department involved in the incident were disciplined in accordance with human resources guidelines.

The muskoxen were given to the Baker Lake Hunters and Trappers Organization, Hotson added.

The department is now developing an orientation program to better train its conservation officers, which Hotson said would hopefully be completed before any new officers are hired.

He said the case has revealed flaws in the training of conservation officers within the department.

"It was determined that an infraction had occurred, but there were fundamental flaws in our departmental structure that contributed," he said.

Hotson wouldn't reveal the name of the officer or the positions of department employees who contributed to the incident.