Since NSW Premier Mike Baird announced that greyhound racing was to be banned in the state from July 1, 2017, Mr Swain says the troops have rallied.

Mr Baird claimed there was “widespread illegal and unconscionable activity” in the state’s greyhound racing industry.

He said there was a “widespread practice of live baiting” and there had been a “mass killing” of more than 48,000 greyhounds in the past 12 years. But, Mr Swain said the premier’s report has got it wrong.

After 55 years in the industry, in Sydney and the Central West, Mr Swain admitted there were “a few bad eggs”.

He also admitted he thought greyhound racing would have been banned last year after the ABC’s Four Corners program revealed the live baiting practices of some trainers.

“It was good footage for Mr Baird,” Mr Swain said of the ABC’s live baiting footage.

He said this footage allowed Mr Baird to justify an inquiry into greyhound racing in NSW. Even though some footage was filmed in Queensland, Mr Swain said no inquiry was conducted there.

“Why did they do an inquiry in NSW, why was it only a state issue,” he asked.

Mr Swain said despite the impending ban, the industry has rallied.

“This industry is not about jobs, it’s about [our way of] life,” he said. “Greyhound people have got to stick together and march on.”

He is hopeful that an industry working party will take on the premier in court.

“If we can take them to court … we’ve got a big chance,” he said.

Mr Swain claims rather than being cruel to animals, greyhound trainers are animal lovers, “you can’t train properly if you don’t love animals”.

Track manager at Bathurst Greyhound Racing Club, Jason Lyne, also disputes the report’s data and said “no-one knows where the data came from”.

He said the industry has rallied, not just in Bathurst, but across the state.

“It’s the first time ever people have put aside their differences and kept together,” Mr Lyne said.