Serious overbreeding and large-scale euthanasia of greyhounds must be ended if greyhound racing is to have a future in NSW, the head of a special state inquiry into the sport has warned.
While brutal live baiting practices described as "rampant" in the industry have shocked the nation, a week-long special commission of inquiry has heard that the destruction of between 13,000 and 17,000 healthy dogs each year is the issue that could shut the industry down.
Commissioner Michael McHugh, the former High Court judge heading the inquiry, said "wastage" - the euphemism used by the greyhound industry for euthanasia of slow or unwanted dogs - was a serious problem.
"If greyhound racing is to continue it has got to be brought under control as far as humanly possible," Mr McHugh said.
A confidential report from the peak Australian greyhounds body, Greyhounds Australasia, revealed in court this week, said that of 17,500 pups born a year, 7,000 never get to race and only around 140 dogs are re-homed, while up to 96 per cent of dogs are put down prematurely.
The interim chief executive of Greyhound Racing NSW, Paul Newson, agreed with Mr McHugh that live baiting was not "the main game".
"That is not the main threat to the industry - overproduction is the substantial issue that we must resolve," he said.
Mr Newson, who was appointed after the GRNSW board and CEO stood down in February following an ABC report on rampant live baiting of greyhounds, said new regulations now required greyhound breeders to be registered and put controls on the age of breeding dogs.
However he told the court there was resistance to the new measures among some breeders because they worried there would not be enough dogs to keep the industry viable.
Mr Newson also told the court he had encountered "aggressive, belligerent" resistance from a small but vocal number of breeders who wanted live baiting to continue, even after footage of possums, piglets and rabbits being mauled by greyhounds was shown on the ABC's Four Corners program in February.
Mr Newson said he was confronted at a series of industry forums held around the state by an extremely vocal and dominant minority of trainers angry about the attention given to live baiting.
"I had individuals shouting and confronting me and alleging that if it wasn't allowed then dogs would be euthanised and the sport would end," he said.
He said trainers opposed to live baiting seemed fearful of speaking up, while the supporters demanded to know why GRNSW had not sought to stop the ABC broadcast, saying the journalists were criminals and had obtained footage of animal abuse improperly.
Mr Newson, who was brought into the CEO role from running the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, gave a scathing assessment of the previous management of GRNSW.
He said the regulatory capability of GRNSW was "non-existent", with no systems in place for record-keeping, complaints registration or monitoring compliance.
"It was worse than non-existent because there was a pretence that it was effective," he said.
"Nothing I have seen has given me remote confidence that the regulator was remotely capable of discharging its functions."
The inquiry has adjourned but further public hearings may be heard, with Mr McHugh indicating some witnesses may be recalled to discuss regulatory matters.
