An inquiry into allegations of significant issues in the NSW greyhound racing industry is set to be held after an explosive report alleged an "appalling" level of animal distress. 

Greyhound Racing NSW (GRNSW) CEO Rob Macaulay quit his post on Tuesday after the report was briefly made public, with his deputy Wayne Billett to become acting CEO.

The resignation came on the same day as the "handover report" was briefly publicly released by the NSW Parliament before being declared "privileged" and its contents quickly withdrawn.

The report, written by the state's former Greyhound Racing chief veterinary officer Alex Brittan, was re-released on Wednesday.

They included Dr Brittan's claim that some dogs were being raced at a "barbaric" intensity, with insufficient time to recover between events, and being locked in metal cages and then "ignored". 

"There are cases of extreme distress, deep claw marks gouged all over the inside of metal cages and recent pools of blood from toe nails that had been ripped off from clawing at the cage door in distress," the report claimed. 

"This level of animal distress is appalling and can neither be condoned or excused." 

The former chief vet also raised allegations that the number of dogs being re-homed had been inflated.

He called for GRNSW to scrap a travel subsidy of $60 per dog per race, believing it incentivised trainers to race dogs more frequently, thus increasing injuries.

State government has no plan to shut industry down

NSW Premier Chris Minns said the government had no intention of closing the greyhound racing industry following the announcement of the independent inquiry.

"We're not going to shut it down," he said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris said matters relating to the management of GRNSW are the responsibility of its board but he wanted to ensure the industry had "the highest standards of animal welfare and integrity".

"On Tuesday 18 June I became aware of a 'handover report to GRNSW' authored by a former chief veterinary officer of Greyhound Racing NSW," he said in a statement.

"I requested a copy of the report from Greyhound Racing NSW. The report alleges significant issues within greyhound racing in NSW, which will require careful scrutiny."

Mr Harris said planning for an independent inquiry into the greyhound racing industry was "in its final stages". 

He said the inquiry would look into "some of the claims that have been made in the most recent reports" as well as other allegations that have been made since the Minns government came to power.

Mr Harris said he felt it was important that the public knew that the government was taking these claims seriously and that the purpose of inquiry was to "uphold the highest possible standards of animal welfare and safety".

The racing minister also said he has had a "strained" relationship with Greyhound Racing NSW.

"Since becoming minister, I have had concerns, which I've shared with the board," Mr Harris said. 

"I don't think it's any secret that my relationship with the board has been strained, but my job is to make sure that they are upholding the highest possible standards."

Mr Harris said he had immediately referred the report to appropriate integrity and enforcement bodies and had written to the GRNSW board asking it to "show cause as to why its members should not be stood down from their positions".

He said board members have until this Friday to respond.

The Greyhound Racing NSW board said Mr Macaulay's decision to resign was one he felt was "best for the industry at this time".

"Mr Macaulay helped reform the organisation, and the industry’s culture, during his tenure," it said in a statement.

"He oversaw the industry’s rehoming program, along with new welfare and safety initiatives."

Independent regulator the Greyhound Welfare and Integrity Commission (GWIC) declined to comment on the developments at Greyhound Racing NSW or Dr Brittan's report.

Report author makes prison claim

One section of the report claims two guards at a prison facility in New South Wales were attacked in 2023 by "previously unthreatening greyhounds" potentially trained by prisoners. 

The dogs, which were in the prison as therapy animals, were then destroyed. 

Dr Brittan's report said the trainer in charge of the prison dogs was worried the animals "could easily have been trained to do this by their prisoners... their attacks potentially being triggered by subtle hand signals".

"There needs to be a very tight reign kept over the greyhounds in prisons programme and possible it should be a female only prison programme... the vetting procedure for suitable prisoners needs to be closely reviewed to avoid repeat occurrences," it said. 

Document privilege 'bizarre and out of the ordinary'

Animal Justice Party MP Emma Hurst, who sought documents including Dr Brittan's report through the parliament, told the ABC it was an "absurd turn of events".

Before the documents disappeared, segments were reported by Nine Newspapers.

"This is very bizarre and out of the ordinary — a total departure from proper parliamentary processes," she said. 

"This is a very usual position to be in, information has already made its way into the media and yet now we're all being stopped from being able to talk about the contents of the report when it's already out there."

Ms Hurst on Tuesday joined The Greens in calling for a parliamentary inquiry into the "disturbing revelations" contained in the veterinary report.

"The CEO of Greyhound Racing NSW is gone, following the release of a damning veterinary report by the former chief vet of Greyhound Racing NSW," the MP said.

"The Labor government can't ignore sustained issues within the greyhound racing industry any longer, clearly an urgent investigation and upper house inquiry is needed," she said.

Greens MP Abigail Boyd backed that call and described Mr Macauley's resignation as "both overdue and insufficient".

"The greyhound racing industry is incapable of reform, and the NSW Greens are calling for it to be shut down," she said. 

"This is an industry that just hasn't changed, and this is a pretty significant moment.

"We need an urgent inquiry now into what exactly has been going on, and I can't see how this industry can keep going."