IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY - Four caribou wounded and left for dead and 14 carcasses were recently found by Cambridge Bay hunters.

The local wildlife office received five separate complaints shortly after, according to Rob Harmer, wildlife conservation officer for the Government of Nunavut.

The caribou carcasses were scattered within a 15 km radius of the hamlet, he said. The hunters who discovered the animals killed the wounded and harvested the abandoned meat.

"The majority of these caribou were harvested by the hunters who had found them, either for personal consumption or for dog food," said Harmer.

Leaving meat in such a way is punishable by law, under the Nunavut Wildlife Act sections 76.1 and 76.2. The sections refer to not retrieving dead or wounded game and wasting or abandoning usable animal parts, respectively.

"It also goes completely against the Inuit IQ principles," Harmer said, referring to Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit.

There is always the possibility of someone shooting an animal and being unable to harvest it, Harmer said.

"If there's a situation with the harvester where the caribou goes off a cliff or gets away from him in some way, that is obviously taken into consideration."

When it comes to 18 animals, however, "generally, there is intent," he said.

The case is under investigation by the wildlife office, though so far information is patchy.

No one has come forward with information as to who shot the caribou, he said, so it's impossible to know if anyone will be charged.

"I can't even answer that; we don't have anyone to talk to at this point. We can't lay charges without the investigation going somewhere."

The wasting of animals is considered very disrespectful by most Nunavummiut.

"It's sporadic. You get it off and on over the years, but this is a year where it's really concerned the public here," Harmer said, due to the close proximity of the animals.

The meat wastage can be attributed in part to easy access to the caribou. The Victoria Island herd is migrating very close to the community this year, Harmer said.