Watson Lake's long-time doctor was ordered to pay a $3,000-fine Wednesday afternoon after he was found guilty of wasting sheep meat.

The 62-year-old physician is also prohibited from hunting in the Yukon for a year after he was found guilty of the offence by visiting territorial court Judge Dennis Overend.

The judge handed down his decision following a 2 1/2-day trial.

'He took what meat he wanted and abandoned the rest,' the judge said of Secerbegovic's actions.

Throughout the trial, the court heard Secerbegovic and two other men his friend Tony Novak and a man visiting Novak known to Secerbegovic as Duchone had gone camping near Haines Junction on Dog Leg Lake, near Granite Lake in September 2004.

While Secerbegovic could legally hunt sheep in the territory, his two friends would have required a guide because they are from Outside.

Unable to get a guide, the trio decided to go to the spot they were planning to hunt anyway so Duchone, who was from Slovenia, could experience the Yukon wilderness.

While they were there on the first day, Secerbegovic shot a ram.

The following day, they went to the kill site to butcher the meat, but it appeared to Secerbegovic when they arrived at the kill site that Duchone was in the beginning stages of a heart attack.

Secerbegovic told the court he likely would have dissected the meat further had he not been so focused on his friend. While he looked after the man he knew as Duchone, giving him baby Aspirin to prevent blood-clotting, he also continued dressing the meat.

He told the the court he butchered what appeared to him to be good meat, leaving a set of ribs, spine and neck, which appeared bruised and not fit for human consumption.

If he'd had more time and hadn't been worried about Duchone, he testified, he likely would have spent more time dissecting the bruised meat to see if there was more edible meat beneath it.

Investigating conservation officers who recovered the meat from the kill site trimmed it down to about 31 lbs. of edible meat and tested about one pound of it.

It's undisputed, Overend said, that there was meat wasted.

That led him to the question of whether Secerbegovic was exercising due diligence in the matter and if his actions occurred out of necessity.

Secerbegovic also attempted to use a satellite phone from the kill site to get the pilot to come and pick them up. He couldn't get a signal from a couple of spots near the site, but did get in touch with the pilot when they headed back to camp later. The pilot picked them up later that day.

After noting Secerbegovic chose to bring the head, horns and cape out, leaving meat behind at the kill site, Overend also pointed out the physician was not so concerned about Duchone that he left the carcass behind to ensure Duchone's health.

'He made a choice, the wrong choice,' the judge said.

Secerbegovic had other legal options open to him, including returning at a later time for the meat, Overend said.

In sentencing, territorial prosecutor Lee Kirkpatrick pointed to case law and suggested the judge order a significant fine along with a two-year hunting prohibition.

She also suggested an order that the meat, cape and horns be forfeited. However, it was more of a precautionary measure, she said, as they already had been given over when Secerbegovic didn't apply to get them back within the 30-day deadline after the meat is seized.

Before defence lawyer Ed Horembala made his sentencing recommendation of a fine between $1,250 and $2,000 and a one-year hunting prohibition, he told the court his client has no criminal record and has been a physician in Watson Lake for 30 years.

For 20 of those years, he was the town's only doctor. Secerbegovic has also served on the Yukon Medical Council and the community's school council, Horembala said.

In all respects, Overend agreed, Secerbegovic is a citizen most communities would benefit from having.

In reaching the sentence of a $3,000-fine and one-year hunting prohibition, Overend pointed out the maximum fines had been raised from $10,000 to $50,000 when the Wildlife Act was amended in 2002, as well as noting that Secerbegovic is an experienced hunter.

Secerbegovic was given 30 days to pay the fine.

The doctor declined to speak to reporters following the decision and sentencing.