“Why did we deserve this?” was the question posed by Bathurst Greyhound Racing Club racing manager Jason Lyne.

Mr Lyne said the fact an entire industry was brought down by the actions of a very small minority of people who treated their animals poorly was “a hard pill to swallow”.

The Bathurst club hosts greyhound races every Monday, attracting the hobby trainers with as little as one or two dogs to full-time trainers with more than 20.

Mr Lyne said the government had not considered the consequences of a ban for all these trainers, not to mention other associated industries like food suppliers. 

“Their livelihoods are going to be gone; how do you re-educate people who have been in greyhounds for four generations and don’t know anything else?” he said.

Mr Lyne said the government should only penalise the few people who have done the wrong thing, suggesting jail time, heavy fines or a lifetime ban from the sport.

Greyhound racing will continue as normal in Bathurst until the ban comes into effect on July 1, unless something can be done to overturn the decision.

Mr Lyne said people in the industry need to remain hopeful and keep talking to each other in the coming months.

“Stay rational, stay calm and stick together – don’t do anything stupid,” he said.