"The two new offences send a clear message that this Coalition Government will not tolerate livestock rustling, whether it is sheep, cattle, beehives, sheepdogs or other animals that are stolen or harmed.
"Today is a new era, where we have finally classified livestock rustling as it should be – as criminal offences in our criminal code.
"Importantly, this step also gives police and the courts the tools they need to rope in the rustlers.
"Federated Farmers estimates the cost of theft of livestock to the farming community at over $120 million every year, and a survey indicates about a quarter of their members had stock stolen in the last five years." said Little.
Federated Farmers meat and wool chair Miles Anderson praised those involved with the law changes.
"We thank all MPs - but particularly Kieran McAnulty and Andrew Little (Labour) and Ian McKelvie (National) and members of the Primary Production Select Committee - for standing up and being counted on this."
He said provision for a tougher sentence was long overdue and that until now the penalties had only been a slap on the wrist.
Anderson also commented on the emotional toll of livestock rustling.
"It's not just about the tens of millions of dollars that livestock rustling costs farming families every year. It's also the distress of finding butchered animals left to die in paddocks, and the dangers involved in farmers having to go out, often on their own and at night, to investigate something suspicious and not knowing whether the strangers on their property are carrying weapons."
The new offences which will be added to the Crimes Act 1961 are:
• Theft of livestock or other animal, carrying a maximum penalty of 7 years imprisonment,
• Unlawful entry to land used for agricultural purposes, where the offender intends to steal livestock or act unlawfully against specified things, such as buildings or machinery, on that land. That offence carries up to 10 years' imprisonment.
