A Whitehorse father and son have been convicted and fined for wasting moose meat after a hunting misadventure last fall in northern Yukon.

Robert Keenan, 60, and son Graydon were sentenced in Yukon Territorial Court this week.

Evidence at their trial showed the Keenans were hunting on McQuesten Lake north of Mayo in August 2015, when they shot a bull moose late in the day. They were subsequently attacked by an angry cow, which they shot and killed as well.

Cows are protected from hunting but it is legal to kill one in self defense, as long as it's reported and no meat is wasted.

The Keenans claimed they gutted the cow and planned to return for it after they tended to their bull meat.

But they say darkness and a gas shortage forced them to leave it behind. They drove all the way back to Whitehorse where they reported their story to authorities.

By the time Dawson City conservation officers got to the kill, the entire carcass was spoiled.

The Keenans must pay $5,000 to the Yukon Turn in Poachers and Polluters fund. They're also banned from hunting for two years, and must complete a hunter education and ethics course before they can be re-licensed.