Greyhound trainer Tom Noble avoids jail over live baiting

A BANNED greyhound trainer who confessed to repeatedly live baiting his race dogs to instil a blood lust in them has avoided jail.

Greyhound trainer Tom Noble arriving at the Ipswich Courthouse. Picture: Tara Croser.

A BANNED Queensland greyhound trainer who confessed to repeatedly live baiting his race dogs to instil a bloodlust in them has avoided jail.

Disgraced trainer Tom Noble’s use of small, live animals such as rabbits, piglets and possums to bait his dogs was exposed by an investigation by the ABC’s Four Corners program into the widespread industry practice in 2014.

The 69-year-old was sentenced to a wholly suspended jail term in the Ipswich District Court on Tuesday morning, after earlier pleading guilty to 15 counts of serious animal cruelty.

Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren described the veteran trainer’s training methods as “somewhat notorious”.

Tom Noble has been a stalwart of the greyhound racing industry.

He said in one instance, the destruction of a live animal, tethered to a mechanical arm that spun around a track at Noble’s regional Queensland track, was “appallingly evident”.

The distress caused to the animals when they were tied to the arm served to make them “more alluring” targets for the dogs, Judge Horneman-Wren said.

However, he also said Noble was unlikely to reoffend, noted he was the primary carer for his wife and acknowledged a litany of health problems suffered by the now-banned trainer.

“You are by no means the sole participant in these barbaric practices,” the judge said.

Noble had also become “isolated and distressed” in the wake of charges being laid and received death threats, the court heard.

He was charged after a joint police and RSPCA probe, sparked by the Four Corners investigation.

Greyhound trainer Tom Noble outside the Ipswich Courthouse. He was spared jail partly because he is the primary carer for his wife. Picture: Tara Croser.

The controversial program aired covert video evidence of a number of trainers using live animals to bait their dogs and sparked widespread outrage.

Outside, Friends of the Hound activist Carol Cardy said Noble’s personal circumstances should not have led to him avoiding actual jail time.

“Lots of people have terrible times ... and they’re not cruel to animals,” she said.

RSPCA senior inspector for prosecutions Georgia Sakzrewski said the serious animal cruelty offence was introduced last year in response to the outrage over live baiting.

“Somebody who has done something so serious over such a long period of time, for them to receive three years and not go to prison, I would absolutely consider that to be a setback,” she said.

Despite the controversy the Four Corners episode sparked, and much of it being centred on Queensland trainers, greyhound racing remains legal in the Sunshine State.

The program eventually led to New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announcing the banning of the industry in his state.