BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Central Oregon's largest hospital for wildlife is encouraging hunters to change to non-lead ammunition, as they've treated over 85 animals for poisonings in the past 4 years, almost all of which passed away from the illness. But the cost, availability, and accuracy of the bullets are major hurdles for hunters.

Sally Compton the Executive Director for Think Wild says most poisonings come from eating the carcass of an animal killed by lead ammunition, "As it permeates through their system, gets to their brain, gets to their internal organs, that's when they start to really feel those symptoms," Sally said.

When lead ammunition enters an animal, it usually splinters, sometimes up to 12 feet. When it does this, it infects the animals carcass with lead, which can someti

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