Lead ammunition won't be used to kill animals in N.S.

Natural Resources staff in Nova Scotia will stop using lead ammunition when they put an animal down as of next Friday.

The provincial government says the decision is the result of evidence showing that animals that eat the remains of other animals left by hunters can swallow lead fragments and be exposed to lead poisoning.

The Natural Resources Department says lead bullets tend to break up after they're shot into an animal, spreading metal slivers.

The lead ammunition that the department has now will be collected and turned over to the RCMP for disposal.