Live animal exports would be banned by 2017 under a private bill introduced by federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who says the industry has run out of "last chances".
Mr Wilkie lashed out on Monday at failed attempts to clean up the live exports trade in the wake of the 2011 scandal involving the slaughter of Australian cattle in Indonesia.
Reeling off continued breaches in countries such as Turkey, Kuwait, Egypt and Indonesia, the Tasmanian independent said the government's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System had proven to be ineffective.
"No wonder the Australian people have no confidence in the live export industry," he told the House of Representatives.
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"There is simply no doubt that the industry and ultimately the government have got it wrong - surely they are out of last chances."
Under the Live Animal Export Restriction and Prohibition Bill 2013 the trade would cease by July 2017, following a phased reduction in exports.
Claims that a ban would be disastrous for farmers and rural communities were "patently false", Mr Wilkie said.
While the sheep and cattle meat industry was worth $16 billion each year, live exports were worth only $730 million.
"That's just five per cent," he said.
Greens MP Adam Bandt told parliament his party backed a ban on live exports, and had introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
"The reality is that expose after expose shows that the system is failing animals," he told parliament.
"It is clear that a shipment from Australia and the slaughter of livestock in overseas abattoirs cannot be controlled from behind a desk in Canberra."
Mr Bandt introduced his own private member's bill on Monday to set up a federal Office of Animal Welfare, which would be charged with monitoring the live export industry.
Debate on both the Voice for Animals (Independent Office of Animal Welfare) Bill 2013 and Mr Wilkie's export ban bill was adjourned to a later date.
Source:-news.smh.com.au
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