The secret greyhound tapes that led to the end of an industry

THEY are the trainers whose shocking acts of animal abuse brought an industry to its knees. On a private training ground, they tied squirming rabbits to pieces of rope and sent them whizzing past hungry dogs.

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THEY are the trainers whose shocking acts of animal abuse exposed a bloody and crooked industry and brought it to its knees.

Tucked away in a private Londonderry training ground, John and Tony Cauchi tied squirming rabbits to pieces of rope and sent them whizzing past young and hungry greyhounds.

The brothers didn’t know it at the time, but the barbaric act was being secretly filmed and would soon become the catalyst of a Special Commission of Inquiry which would spell the end of greyhound racing in NSW.

Tony Cauchi and John Cauchi admitted to multiple counts of animal cruelty regarding the use of live rabbits in the baiting of greyhounds.

The pair was among several prominent trainers and racing heavyweights who were to be investigated criminally by authorities last year.

The Cauchi brothers were stood down and slapped with criminal charges and authorities launched an investigation into racing heavyweight Zeke Kadir, who owned the property where the brunt of the crimes occurred.

The two brothers pleaded guilty to several counts of animal abuse last year and both received 18-month prison sentences but Tony was sparred any jail time due to an intellectual disability.

Sydney trainer Ian Morgan was also convicted of animal abuse after footage aired of him pulling a terrified possum from a cage in his car and handing it to Kadir who restrained it with ropes before it was killed.

Four Corners exposed the culture of live-baiting.

Kadir yesterday did not respond to multiple calls from the Daily Telegraph.

Even more disturbingly, Sydney trainer Sherrie Turner told the inquiry she sold rabbits to other trainers for $10 a pop and referred to them by the codename “parcels”.

Kadir has always maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty to a string of animal cruelty charges last year, despite all of the convicted crimes occurring on his property.

Four other trainers, Majella Ferguson, Donna Grech, Wayne Smith and David Sundstrom were all suspended and summoned to give evidence at a Greyhound Racing NSW.

In the months to follow, Kadir and Grech refused to give the inquiry evidence on the basis it may prejudice future criminal cases against themselves.

Findings from a special inquiry resulted in NSW Premier Mike Baird announcing yesterday that the government would shut the greyhound racing industry down in the state.

However, the internal investigation was short-lived and by February this year cases were dropped against all eight trainers.

Investigators were worried acting on the incriminating footage could be not used as it breached the Surveillance Devices Act 2005 and would open the body up to legal action.

Special Commission of Inquiry yesterday handed down a report showing up to 20 per cent of trainers were involved in the brutal practise and estimated trainers killed up to 68,000 “uncompetitive” dogs every year.