The Department of Agriculture has refused to release video of sheep on board a ship bound for the Middle East, saying it could be used selectively to lobby for a ban on the live-export trade.

Animal welfare charity RSPCA Australia, which first requested the footage under freedom of information (FoI) laws 12 months ago, said the decision was "outrageous" and raised more questions than it answered.

The RSPCA sought footage from a 30-day voyage last May by the MV Al Shuwaikh to Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Credit:Jason South

Former agriculture minister David Littleproud last year ordered independent observers to accompany livestock export voyages following the 2017 Awassi Express disaster, in which 2400 sheep died in searing heat.

The footage sought by the RSPCA is from a 30-day voyage last May by the MV Al Shuwaikh to Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Of the 69,117 sheep onboard, 609 died, for a mortality rate of 0.88 per cent - just below the 1 per cent threshold at which a review is automatically triggered.