The Federal Government has suspended Australia's live cattle trade to Indonesia effective immediately for up to six months after a nationwide outpouring of rage at the airing of footage showing cattle being brutalised and tortured on ABC’s Four Corners.

The Four Corners program on Monday night last week showed Australian cattle being subjected to inhumane treatment in Indonesian abattoirs.

Speaking on ABC Radio, Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said the live export trade would not resume until the government, community and industry were confident that safeguards were in place to ensure appropriate animal welfare in Indonesia.

"I didn't want to put a timeframe on it (but) the current suspension is up to six months. It is important that industry use that period to work through and come up with supply chain assurance," he said.

Today’s announcement of the suspension of the live trade to Indonesia follows the 2006 suspension of the live trade to Egypt.

Animal welfare groups welcome ban

RSPCA Australia and Animals Australia have welcomed the announcement to suspend the live cattle trade to Indonesia.

"From the first moment of viewing this footage, I knew that suspending the trade was the only appropriate response from the government”, said RSPCA Australia Chief Scientist Dr Bidda Jones.

“While we are relieved at this announcement, it should not be forgotten that some 100,000 Australian cattle currently in Indonesia will face the same brutal treatment. The government must immediately put inspectors in Indonesian slaughterhouses to provide these animals with at least some protection"

"If successive Australian governments had proper oversight of this industry, these cattle and the six million previously exported to Indonesia, would not have faced the horrors of Indonesian slaughterhouses.

Live export industry ‘cannot be trusted’

Animals Australia says the live export industry cannot be trusted.

"If the Prime Minister didn't realise it before, she now has irrefutable evidence that the live export industry cannot be trusted, said Lyn White, Animals Australia Campaign Director and cruelty investigator.

“Not even MLA's own constituents are accepting their claims that they didn't know what was occurring in Indonesia. This is an industry that has made misleading the government, public and farmers an art form and animals have suffered immeasurably as a result.

According to Ms White, for years, this industry supplied animals to Egypt knowing they would be brutalised and now they have been exposed as complicit in Indonesia by supplying animals to the most brutal treatment imaginable and facilitating that treatment through the installation of cruel restraint devices.

"Over the past week, Australians have voiced their overwhelming outrage and disapproval of the live trade and the government's failure to take urgent action. The only way the Gillard government will redeem itself in the eyes of the public will be to support legislation soon to be introduced into the Federal parliament to end live export,” she said.