The Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is urging the government to ban the use of sow stalls, or cages, due to concerns about animal welfare, reports ABC News.

They want the use of stalls restricted to six weeks by 2014, with a complete ban to come into effect by 2017.

Lyn White from the animal welfare group, Animals Australia, told the ABC's Stateline programme that Tasmania could become the first Australian state to adopt such a ban.

"It's fantastic that Tasmania may well be leading the rest of Australia in this," she said.

"Someone has to lead in circumstances like this and to say we were wrong, animals should never have been treated like this," Ms White said.