The NT Parliament is being urged to stamp out the possibility of traditional owners being jailed for hunting when it considers a new animal welfare bill.

Key points: A public hearing will be held on Monday about the Animal Protection bill

A public hearing will be held on Monday about the Animal Protection bill The bill states there will be no exemptions for causing harm or suffering to an animal for "traditional practices".

The bill states there will be no exemptions for causing harm or suffering to an animal for "traditional practices". The Northern Land Council says this is will leave traditional hunters vulnerable to prosecution

The bill is seeking to repeal the Animal Welfare Act and create the new Animal Protection Act, setting out stronger animal welfare policies.

But the draft bill has retained a section of the current law which states that "cultural, religious or traditional practices" would not be a satisfactory defence for intentionally causing suffering, harm or wounding an animal.

A person charged with such an offence faces up to five years in prison if their actions led to the animal's death.

The Northern Land Council has called for the clause to be removed, saying it effectively left "all occurrences of traditional hunting vulnerable to prosecution".

Given the increased focus animal welfare activists have put on traditional hunters lately, the group said this section of the law had "the potential to worsen the situation in respect of Indigenous incarceration".

In June last year, Indigenous Australians made up more than a quarter of the Australian prison population, despite making up only three per cent of the total Australian population.

However, a NT Department of Primary Industry and Resources spokesperson said it was not intended to restrict or prevent traditional hunting or fishing from taking place.

"While recognising the cultural significance of traditional hunting activities, the legislation does not provide a blanket exemption from possible acts of cruelty and the inhumane treatment of animals," the spokesperson said.

The NT Government's Social Policy Scrutiny Committee will hold a public hearing about the animal protection bill on Monday.

Northern Land Council chief executive Joe Morrison has called for the Animal Protection bill to be amended.

'A very Western-centric view'

It is believed that no traditional owners have been prosecuted for hunting under the current Animal Welfare Act in the Northern Territory.

But Northern Land Council chief executive Joe Morrison said given "the rise of animal welfare views brought about by non-Indigenous people" it was important to remove the possibility of prosecution.

The Federal Government committed $2 million to investigating the illegal trade of turtle and dugong meat in far north Queensland and the Torres Strait, but reports claim it found "no substantial evidence" of the practise.

Calls have also been made to ban the traditional hunting of endangered animals, and two years ago a Northern Territory social club scrapped plans to serve turtle and dugong meat during NAIDOC week celebrations, following threats from protesters.

"At the end of the day change in these [hunting] practices should be by agreement and partnership with hunters and not by legal force," Mr Morrison said.

"It's not just a matter of the practice — going to kill something — but it's really part of an economy. It's part of a spiritual connection to country.

"It's very easy for non-believers or non-informed people to sort of bastardise that."

He also said the law was incompatible with the Federal Government's Native Title Act, which explicitly sets out provisions for hunting, fishing and gathering for native title holders but does not refer to animal welfare.

"It's also about amending to ensure that it's consistent with other legislation," he said.

"Otherwise you'll just end up with litigation going around in circles.

"And we certainly don't want to end up with more lawyers having a picnic over it."

Yet he wasn't surprised the new legislation failed to make exceptions for traditional hunting.

"That doesn't surprise me at all because that's the changing nature of communities expectations about animal welfare," Mr Morrison said.

"But again it's a very Western-centric view of animal welfare. It's not really considerate of Indigenous people's views."

He said if reforms were required, they should be made by getting Indigenous rangers into communities to talk about what the broader community's expectations were.

Campaigner Bob Irwin backs Queensland example

Queensland is the only other Australian jurisdiction that has provisions relating to the relationship between animal welfare and traditional hunting.

While Queensland's Animal Care and Protection Act listed traditional hunting as an "offence exemption", in 2012 amendments were added to ensure hunting was not done it a cruel way.

The Northern Land Council said this legislation provides an example of a defence that could be adopted in the Northern Territory.

A Queensland government department website points out the location of a turtle brain, and advises the most humane ways to hunt them. ( Supplied: Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries )

The Queensland State Government website now explains some of the most humane ways for traditional hunters to kill animals, for example, destroying a turtle's brain rather than beheading it.

It acknowledged that what was acceptable in one community may not be in another, and that hunters should "use the best method that is reasonable in their circumstances".

Its examples of illegal cruelty include taking flesh from an animal before it is dead, causing the animal to die from dehydration or starvation, injuring or prolonging the life of the animal to attract another, or injuring an animal to stop it escaping after it has been caught.

"[In the Queensland law there's] a couple of clauses that basically could be adopted to amend the Territory bill, basically to allow for a defence of an offence," Mr Morrison said.

"This is quite a topical subject, particularly in Queensland."

Bob Irwin, who founded a wildlife and conservation foundation in his own name, was a key campaigner for the Queensland reforms in 2012.

Bob Irwin said changes to Queensland's animal welfare laws in 2012 have worked well. ( Australian Story )

He said he was pleased with how they have worked out and would like to see them introduced to other jurisdictions, such as the Northern Territory.

"At this stage I think it's working very well," Mr Irwin said.

"And we also found that most of the Indigenous people were not concerned about changing the practices so that the animals were killed in a humane way."

However, he said he would like to see further changes to the law to rule out traditional hunting of endangered species like dugong and some turtle species.