Holloway urges participants to stay positive despite ban
CENTRAL Coast trainer Noelene Holloway says she is determined to stay positive and fight the NSW State Government's decision to ban greyhound racing as of July 1, 2017.
Holloway, who has been involved in greyhounds her whole life, says the ban was a massive blow.
“When I woke this morning I was sad to realise it wasn't a bad dream,” Holloway said.
“At this stage what I am focusing on is that their whole case is based on lies and I believe if we get the right leaders prepared to expose these lies then we can beat them.”
Holloway believes the figures released from the NSW Special Commission of Inquiry are largely fabricated and believes the industry has been treated unjustly as a result.
“One of Mike Baird's points was that 180 dogs per year have catastrophic injuries like fractured skulls and broken backs – but I don't know anyone myself who has ever had that type of injury,” she said.
“Another point was that he said a trainer revealed between 10-20% of people live bait their dogs…but is it 10 or 20 per cent? What are their names and addresses? Why haven't they been prosecuted? What evidence does he have to support his claims?
“In court that would not stand up. Unless they can come up with more than 10 names and find them guilty of live baiting then that is the number – at this moment it is 10 out of 13,000.”
Holloway also disagrees with the numbers released by Greyhounds Australasia which state 17,000 greyhounds are killed each year.
“I rang Greyhounds Australasia when the figure of 17,000 dogs put down each year was released and they told me that number was pulled out of the air.
“The amount of dogs bred per year is no where near 17,000 – so to say that many are put down each year is impossible.
“They had no evidence or documentation.”
Holloway has no idea what she will do if the industry closes down, but says it isn't something she even wants to consider at this point in time.
“I've got pictures of when I was three years old with the greyhounds – I have been in the sport my whole life,” she said.
“Our focus should be fighting this all the way – lets not give any attention to what's going to happen if there is no racing in 12 months because that's just going to get everyone down in spirits and we won't fight as well.
“What Mike Baird has done is an attack on our democratic right, so lets pull together because we've got nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Have any of you people thought that if the nswgr hadnt been turning a blind eye to wheelers breeding habits so really it was one of your own in wheeler that has contributed greatly to what has happened it is a shame for all nsw are shut down because of one dirty greedy scum bag named wheeler.