Anyone caught racing greyhounds in Canberra from May next year could face one year in prison or a $15,000 fine, under laws tabled today.

The ACT Government is looking to wind up the greyhound racing industry, more than a year after Chief Minister Andrew Barr declared it had no future in Canberra.

Under the laws, introduced to the Assembly today, racing and trialling of greyhounds will cease on April 30 next year.

The maximum penalty of one year imprisonment or a $15,000 fine for anyone continuing to race the dogs after that date applies under animal welfare laws.

However, the breeding, owning and registering of racing greyhounds will continue to be legal in the ACT under certain conditions.

Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said it would also still be legal to bet on greyhound racing in other states.

"The legislation places new registration requirements on the owners and those who have day-to-day control of racing greyhounds, to improve monitoring of the number of ACT dogs still participating in the industry," he said.

The territory pledged to end the industry after a ban was floated by the NSW Government, following an ABC Four Corners investigation uncovered live baiting and animal cruelty in New South Wales.

Despite that ban being later overturned, the ACT Government pushed ahead

In June, after the release of the Mary Durkin report into the local industry, the Government vowed to make the sport illegal by mid-next year, despite the report making no findings of animal cruelty.

"Sadly, one of the blind spots identified by the Durkin Report was a genuine understanding of how many dogs die in the course of their racing careers, or before they've even begun," Mr Ramsay said.

"This is a welfare concern that we're determined to address with these new monitoring provisions and registration requirements."

New litters to be registered within seven days

Under the new laws, owners and breeders will have to fork out for new licences and registration fees.

A breeder will also have to advise Domestic Animal Services of a greyhound litter within seven days of birth.

A dog will have to be specially registered for racing by the age of six months and owners will have to pay a yet-to-be-determined annual fee, designed to recover costs of ensuring the welfare of such dogs.

A person wanting to own a racing dog will also have to apply for a Racing Greyhound Controller Licence and will be subject to a Code of Conduct, which is currently under development.

And pet greyhounds will be treated like any other domestic dog.

Industry vows to fight the ban

The Canberra Greyhound Racing Club has vowed to fight the ban in court. ( ABC News: Laura Gartry )

Spokesman for the ACT Greyhound Racing Club Kel Watt accused the Government of cowardice, after the club received an out-of-business-hours letter from Mr Ramsay last night, advising them of the legislation.

"He knows the club operated from about 7:30am to about 4:00, so this was a deliberate attempt to avoid any scrutiny and to make sure that there was really no chance for us to speak," he said.

"He's been pushing this lie that the ACT industry can't be extracted from NSW.

"It's a provable lie, the Minister was briefed in December last year about a proposal from the Canberra greyhound industry that it could operate independently."

Mr Watt said the sport would fight to the last moment to save racing in the ACT, and the local industry had an unblemished animal welfare record.

The industry is currently involved in three court battles with the Government over its future.

"We're prepared to take this all the way to the High Court," Mr Watt said.

"We believe we have a very strong and arguable case."

$1m transition assistance on offer

There are about 70 Canberra residents actively participating in the local industry, which races on Sundays at the greyhound track in Narrabundah.

It is understood only a couple of people have registered interest in a $1 million transition assistance so far, but the Government expect the number to increase now the legislation has been presented.

Though opposition MLA Mark Parton, who has fiercely defended the industry, previously said members seeking government assistance would be "like a bank teller seeking help from the armed criminal that robbed them".