Exporting live animals for slaughter and fattening would be banned under plans put out for consultation by the UK and Welsh Governments.
Ministers said leaving the European Union allows the UK to enact rules which would prevent unnecessary suffering of animals during transport on excessively long journeys.
Proposals in the consultation, which applies to England and Wales only, also include reducing maximum journey times, giving animals more space and headroom during transport and stricter rules on transporting livestock in extreme temperatures and by sea.
Officials said around 6,400 animals were transported from the UK directly to slaughter in continental Europe in 2018, a practice which could not be previously stopped under EU rules.
“We are committed to improving the welfare of animals at all stages of life,” said UK Environment Secretary George Eustice.
“Today marks a major step forward in delivering on our manifesto commitment to end live exports for slaughter.”
He added: “Now that we have left the European Union, we have an opportunity to end this unnecessary practice.
“We want to ensure that animals are spared stress prior to slaughter.”
The move has been welcomed by animal welfare groups, who said they had been campaigning on the issue for more than 50 years.
Chris Sherwood, the RSPCA’s chief executive, said: “There is absolutely no reasonable justification to subject an animal to an unnecessarily stressful journey abroad simply for them to be fattened for slaughter.
“Ending live exports for slaughter and further fattening would be a landmark achievement for animal welfare.”
NFU Scotland animal health and welfare policy manager Penny Middleton said a Scottish consultation on animal transport was expected soon.
She added: “We will await to see the details in both consultations and will comment further when we know what changes are proposed.”