A TINY speck of dirt could have destroyed a live baiting investigation that brought Victorian greyhound racing to its knees.

Buttonhole cameras buried in the ground and video equipment in trees captured evidence of the cruel practice, but Animals Australia investigators feared a grain of dirt or gust of wind could have spoiled the sting.

“There were times when it rained and the equipment got damaged or when a storm came and the camera blew in a particular direction,” chief investigator Lyn White said.

“Without the courage of the investigators, the vision that implicated some 17 trainers here in Victoria wouldn’t have been documented.”

Animals Australia has been nominated for a Pride of Australia award for its relentless efforts in exposing animal cruelty, most recently with live baiting.

Ms White recalls her horror watching for the first time the footage of greyhounds ripping apart defenceless rabbits, possums and piglets — which in Victoria led to two government investigations, the chairman of Greyhound Racing Victoria resigning and 17 trainers being suspended.

“I’ve conducted investigations in over a dozen different countries and I truly thought I was beyond being shocked,” she said.

“When I was watching the vision I felt like I was watching evolution in reverse.”

It all started when Animal Liberation Queensland called to say they’d documented live baiting at a local training track.

In the weeks prior, a member of the public contacted Animals Australia with photos of live rabbits in cages at Tooradin, and said the RSPCA told her without further evidence they had no legal power to act.

So, Animals Australia decided to get the evidence the RSPCA needed.

Ms White said it wasn’t part of the job description for anyone at Animals Australia to climb trees in the night during a wild storm to set up cameras.

“Was there any other way that this evidence could have been obtained,” she asked.

“Bottom line is, no.”

Legal proceedings are set to follow and Ms White hopes Animals Australia’s damning video evidence will be admissible in court.

But there is one thing she knows for sure.

“We’re going to continue to investigate this industry,” she promised.

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