NSW authorities are investigating allegations of serious animal cruelty following the discovery of a mass grave of greyhounds on the property of a licensed and registered trainer in Sydney's west.
RSPCA NSW inspectors uncovered the open pit with the remains of nine dogs at Marsden Park on July 3 following a tip-off.
They also found a dozen sick and emaciated greyhounds suffering a range of medical conditions, including severe dental disease and overgrown nails.
All have been seized by the RSPCA and are now in the care of veterinarians.
The Greyhound Welfare Integrity Commission, the industry regulator that launched on July 1, is investigating serious alleged animal cruelty offences along with the RSPCA.
The discovery comes two years after then-NSW premier Mike Baird shut down the greyhound industry following a Special Commission of Inquiry that found up to 68,000 greyhounds had been killed in the past 12 years and nearly a fifth of trainers used live animal baits.
He reversed the ban later in 2016 and instead promised to reform the sector.
NSW Greens MP Mehreen Faruqi said the "absolutely gruesome" images of the greyhounds show the consequences of "an industry that treats animals as disposable commodities".
"The fact that such cruelty is happening in 2018 shows that nothing has changed," she said in a statement.
"This incident just shows that the second chance given to the industry was a huge mistake and all the promises they made to end the cruelty lack any kind of credibility."
NSW Racing Minister Paul Toole said reforms introduced since the ban was reversed included unprecedented investigative, surveillance and enforcement powers to target those in the industry who commit animal cruelty offences.
"There is zero tolerance for such abhorrent behaviour and those who engage in it can expect to be removed from the industry and face criminal prosecution," he said in a statement.
The Marsden Park property is a short distance from where Mark and Stephen Farrugia operated their Glengarrie trial track before they were disqualified from racing for five years in 2017 for exporting almost 100 greyhounds to China.
Two other mass graves, containing a total of 150 dogs, have been found in Australia since 2015.
