Thoroughbred trainers in NSW live in a state of nervousness, fearing their industry may suffer the same fate as the greyhound racing industry at the hands of the Baird government.
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Banning greyhound racing is seen by many who are worried the decision creates a precedent that may see other animal-based industries wound up.
Between Cootamundra and Wallendbeen is Anderson Racing Stables, a family-run business owned by Rob and Trish Anderson who are worried about their family’s future.
“The industries are so similar and when you do see one go down you think, are we going to be targeted next?” Mrs Anderson said.
Mrs Anderson said she remains nervous about the precedent created.
“I don’t think they’ll move on the gallops for a long time, but it’s always in your mind,” she said.
Mrs Anderson’s concern about the precedent is shared by Cootamundra MP Katrina Hodgkinson who outlined it as a reason for crossing the floor and voting against the greyhound racing ban.
“I am concerned that the legislation that has now passed the New South Wales parliament to shut down the greyhound racing industry … could be used in the future as a precedent to shut down some other important food and agricultural industries,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
“We just don’t know what is going to be targeted next.”
Like many greyhound trainers, horse racing is the Andersons’ sole source of income.
“It’s been our livelihood all our lives, we grew up with it. What else do we know what to do? It would be another two unemployed people,” Mrs Anderson said.
The decision to ban greyhound racing shocked the Andersons because of how close to home it hit.
“You feel sorry for the young people who have built a business around it, they’re exactly like Rob and I,” Mrs Anderson said.
Off the back of the greyhound ban, Racing NSW, the horse racing regulatory body, has committed extra funding to their Horse Welfare Fund, which aims to re-home every racehorse bred in NSW.
For the Andersons, it means extra paperwork when a horse leaves their stable but it could mean having a livelihood or not.
“After all this, Racing NSW got on the front foot and put new horse welfare rules in place so that if the government does come we can fight it,” Mrs Anderson said.
The Greyhound Transition Taskforce is creating an interim report to determine the logistics of the industry shutdown.
The interim report is yet to be released but it is due by the end of September. It will be a tense wait for the greyhound industry and for the Andersons to see what the report recommends.
