A senior WA live export figure has avoided an immediate jail term for falsifying documents as part of a disastrous export operation that ended with 22,000 sheep being slaughtered in Pakistan.

Garry John Shawcross Robinson, 46, was working as a general manager for Perth-based exporter Wellard in August 2012 when the company had a shipment of sheep turned away from Bahrain.

Robinson sought approval from the Australian Government to redirect the ship to a buyer in Pakistan and provided forged documents to officials.

Some of the sheep were destroyed in horrific circumstances after local health officials said they were infected with salmonella, sparking a protracted animal welfare scandal and calls to ban live exports.

District Court Judge Michael Gething sentenced Robinson to 18-months jail this afternoon but suspended the term and immediately released him on a $20,000 recognisance order.

He said Robinson clearly knew what he was doing when he instigated a plan to alter documents provided by Pakistani officials and sent a doctored letter to the Australian Government.

Judge Gething told the court there was an element of persistence in the crime and said it resulted in diplomatic consequences for Australia and consequences for the live export industry.

Robinson’s crime was not uncovered until 2014, when irregularities in paperwork related to the Pakistan voyage came to light.

He was working for a rival WA exporter at the time, having left Wellard in December 2012.

Defence lawyer Sam Vandongen argued his client was under enormous pressure and made a bad decision in an emergency situation.

He said Robinson was faced with a situation where the sheep had to be unloaded in Pakistan or culled at sea in “incredibly horrendous” circumstances.

Mr Vandongen told the court the idea of a cull at sea was not palatable for the animals or the crew.

He said what happened to the sheep when they disembarked from Pakistan had “nothing whatsoever” to do with Robinson’s crime.

The court was told Robinson had been abused and threatened over the phone, in emails and in person since the mass slaughter.

Robinson, who has no prior relevant convictions, pleaded guilty to dishonestly influencing a Commonwealth public official.