Gunning greyhound trainer with 250 dogs would be 'ruined' by racing ban

Now he says the landmark decision to shut down the sport in NSW – a move swiftly followed by the ACT government – has left his family's livelihood, Gunning property and hundreds of dogs in his care in limbo.

"We've worked for over 25 years to get what we've got – a beautiful property and 250 dogs," he said.

"If they put a halt on greyhound racing now, that would be the end for us. I'd have to sack my employees and I don't know what I'd do with the dogs."

The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club has vowed to fight the controversial ban, which is set to come into effect from mid next year, and has moved to hire lawyers and attend protests with their NSW counterparts this week.

Mr Lord, who has trained dogs in Australia and overseas and moved from Canberra to acreage in NSW about 14 years ago with dreams of breeding his own dogs.

He'd spent more than $2 million on the property to build infrastructure including a $300,000 straight track, kennels, puppy runs and paddocks.

Mr Lord, who employed five staff, said he faced financial ruin and was in "a no-win situation" given the property would virtually be rendered worthless.

"I would lose everything. I'm 52, I don't know anything else, I've never done anything else. How would I support my family?

"I've got about $4 million worth of stock sitting here and the government's saying it would give us $500 a dog."

Mr Lord said the ban would have a significant impact given many ACT greyhound owners had moved to nearby areas such as Queanbeyan and Bungendore for bigger properties.

"When the government claims Canberra's not a big area for greyhound racing, it really is. Some of the best dogs in Australia have come out of the ACT."

The decision to ban the industry was made after an 800-page report into the industry that revealed between 48,891 and 68,448 dogs had been killed because they were considered too slow to pay their way or were unsuitable for racing.

He said the main concerns over animal cruelty raised in the report centred on live baiting and "wastage" in the industry – behaviour Mr Lord said was engaged in by only a small percentage of people in the industry as he said he'd "never done anything wrong".

Mr Lord said he "fully supported" any legal action launched by clubs in the ACT and NSW in a bid to protect his own assets and stand up for the wider industry.

"Every participant will be the same, they'll set everything aside and fight. We won't stop fighting until we get a result."