Pride of Australia: Hayley Cotton, the woman behind live baiting exposure

HAYLEY Cotton knew the footage she had gathered was confronting. But she also knew the only way to stop live baiting was to expose it. But not even she could be prepared for what would happen after.

HAYLEY Cotton knew the footage she had gathered was confronting.

Clandestine cameras captured battered pigs, possums and rabbits, strung up on lures on a private racetrack, being chased and mauled by greyhounds in a “blooding” practice the industry said had been dead for decades.

But Ms Cotton, an Animal Liberation Queensland volunteer, also knew the only way to stop the training method was to expose it.

When the footage was aired on ABC’s Four Corners on February 16, greyhound racing immediately came under scrutiny and an inquiry was ordered the next day.

Greyhound racing in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria has undergone sweeping changes, all state board members lost their jobs and new governing structures are being put in place.

Hayley Cotton has been nominated for the Environment award in Pride of Australia after collecting live-baiting footage. Pics Tara Croser.

A joint police-RSPCA taskforce was formed with the sole task of investigating criminal offences in the greyhound industry, leading to dozens of trainers being charged with animal cruelty and banned from racetracks for life.

“The public reaction told the story,” Ms Cotton, who has been nominated for a Pride of Australia Environment Medal, said.

“I had no idea how wide-reaching it would be. What unfolded has spoken for itself.”

For Ms Cotton, the best result is the promise that the dogs’ welfare will become a higher priority and live-baiting will be in the past.

She has received countless messages praising her for exposing the issue, even from law-abiding greyhound trainers who told her she had done a “great thing”.

Despite her success, she is still campaigning to have greyhound racing banned, saying the sport is “inherently cruel”.

“We’re a culture that loves dogs,” Ms Cotton said.

Nominations for the Pride of Australia awards close on July 19. Finalists for each category will be announced on August 30 . To nominate see our nomination form here.