The NSW government's decision has denied the greyhound community the chance to be the hero in their own story. Although I grew up within the NSW greyhound racing community, I do not consider myself a member of that community; indeed, I would describe myself as someone who is technically against it. 

This is not to say, however, that I agree with what appears likely to happen to this community. Time and time again we have watched as Western powers ignore the cultural value and contribution of others. 

How many times must we witness ethnocentric ignorance such as this before we learn to act with knowledge, rather than destroy with power? For many of its members, the greyhound racing community is a central part of their social identities and sense of self. 

At the centre of the community is the sport, and, without it, it is likely to dissolve. Some will simply return to their lives, their jobs and their families. There will be others, however, who will be left with nothing. 

Some have no family to express this loss to, they are estranged from the larger society; the community was their link to the outside world. 

This is not to argue that the greyhound racing community of NSW has done no wrong. My own apprehension about the community is longstanding. This is mostly due to the issue surrounding what I have called ‘the forgotten dogs’. 

Greyhound people claim to love their dogs, and, indeed, they do. However, the dogs they are speaking about when making these claims are specific; this claim does not encompass all the greyhounds that an individual has ever owned, trained or bred. 

The figures regarding wastage did therefore not surprise me; the industry does produce wastage, and a lot of it. The greyhound racing industry has been responsible for the deaths of its greyhounds. 

This must be accepted by the reluctant racing community before they can ever hope to move forward. 

However, what does not have to be accepted is the idea that because of this fact greyhound people are inherently ‘bad’. 

Since the beginning of last year, when greyhound racing was placed in the spotlight and labelled as such, I have witnessed some of the most obstinate people agree to abide by reforms and change their way of thinking.

The process of reforming the industry initiated last year seemed to be doing the impossible – massaging the community into something better than it was before. 

By banning the sport, before they had a chance to prove who they could become, says volumes about how the Government has classified this community.

Due to a lack of faith in our fellow humans, this same story will once again play out: a culture, community, sense of identity and lives will be lost and we will never know if things could have been different because we never gave this community the chance to be the hero in their own story. 

JUSTINE GROIZARD is an Honours student, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle