A U.S. Marine is shown in this May 2008 file photo carrying ammunition to machine gun positions in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Increased U.S. military demand has led to an ammunition shortage. (David Guttenfelder/Associated Press)

Canadian police officers may have to use their bullets sparingly, as U.S. military involvement in conflicts abroad is contributing to a worldwide ammunition shortage.

While the chief distributor of ammo to Canadian law enforcement agencies is based in Canada, its stock is imported from manufacturers in the United States. Those manufacturers give priority to bulging orders from the U.S. armed forces, which are actively engaged in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a result, supplies of certain ammunition rounds in Canada are getting tighter, the Canadian distributor told the Canwest news service Thursday.

"I've been advised not to give quotes of any less than a year" for shipments, Bob Nicholls, president of R. Nicholls Distributors Inc. in Quebec, said in an interview.

Some varieties of Glock handguns are delayed six months, Nicholls said, while ammunition commonly used by SWAT teams can be expected to arrive nine months after an order has been placed, Canwest reported.

Despite Nicholls' suggestions that police should use bullets sparingly or consider switching to a less popular type of ammunition, police forces will not have to second-guess whether to fire while on duty, Saskatoon Police Service spokesperson Carolyn Wesley told Canwest.

The bullet shortage just affects the number of rounds fired during training sessions, and police forces should "be thinking at least six months in advance" when it comes to placing ammunition orders, she said.

In Ontario, the Halton Police Board is doing just that, and will spend almost $110,000 to try to purchase all the lead-free bullets it can, the Metroland West Media Group reported Thursday. The move is in anticipation of shrinking supply for the specialized ammunition.

U.S. police also affected

The shortage isn't just affecting Canada, though, as law enforcement agencies south of the border are feeling the pinch.

In Washington state, for example, the average cost of ammunition, fuelled by higher demand, has increased 67 per cent between 2004 and this year, said the state's General Administration bureau, which negotiates contracts with suppliers for state and local agencies.

This has forced some law-enforcement agencies in Washington state to plan their orders farther in advance.

With files from the Associated Press