HOW many more reports of sickening cruelty will it take to convince our cattle and sheep industry to put an end to live exports?

Judging from the reaction to the latest ABC expose on cattle being bludgeoned to death in Vietnam, the live exporters will continue to turn a blind eye to the terrible conditions endured by our cattle and sheep on ships and the cruel slaughter methods employed in some markets.

Australian Livestock Exporters Council chairman Simon Crean - the former Labor minister and union chief - agreed that the situation wasn't perfect but they were trying to clean up their act.

He also regretted the industry has ousted a vet who blew the whistle on appalling conditions aboard the export ships.

Nationals' chief Barnaby Joyce keeps saying that if we don't send live cattle for foreign slaughter other nations will: in other words we should ignore the suffering of our beasts because other countries will fill the gap if we ban the trade.

Not good enough.