Former bosses of a West Perth-based live export company charged after 2400 sheep died on a ship bound for the Middle East have pleaded not guilty to a list of animal cruelty charges.

Former Emmanuel Exports directors Graham Daws and Michael Stanton pledged their innocence in Perth Magistrates Court on Friday to 16 charges each of being a person who was cruel to an animal.

The shocking footage emerged showing sheep dying in horrific conditions on a ship to the Middle East in August 2017. Credit:Animals Australia

As the ex-board members entered their pleas, a group of anti-live export activists campaigned outside the courthouse with pickets in an effort to remind people of the “reality of live export” with hundreds of animals dying per voyage.

Animal Justice Party member Jenhi Thomas-Wurth said she wanted to bear witness to the prosecution of Mr Daws and Mr Stanton and planned to have a presence on Hay Street throughout their trials.