BATHURST greyhound trainer Matt Murphy fears his family will go bankrupt if the decision to ban the sport is not overturned.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Murphy and his family moved to the city four years ago and have since invested as much as $850,000 to establish their greyhound business.
The business offers rearing, pre-education and spelling services.
Mr Murphy said the family would be under immense financial pressure if it were to lose the income from working with greyhounds.
“My wife [has other income], but it definitely isn’t enough to cover the mortgage and the bills. Our electricity alone is $1500 a quarter,” he said.
The ban to greyhound racing, which will be imposed from July 1, is restricted to NSW, meaning trainers could potentially relocate interstate to continue their careers.
Mr Murphy said he considered this course of action himself, taking a research trip to Melbourne recently, but found that property was far too expensive for this to be feasible.
He said he will be speaking to his solicitor to get compensation if the ban is not overturned and costs his family its business.
“We will hang around [Bathurst] as long as we can, but if we don’t have dogs, we don’t have income,” Mr Murphy said.
The dogs currently in Mr Murphy’s care will eventually be returned to his clients, while those that don’t belong to clients will likely be sent interstate.