Two Rakaia greyhound racing trainers are devastated as they prepare to wind up their livelihoods.

Tony Hart and his stepson Dylan Voyce have not given up in their fight to stop a ban on the sport, but don’t see the government changing its mind.

After select committee oral submissions this week on the Racing Industry (Closure of Greyhound Racing) Amendment Bill, a report of written and oral submissions with recommendations will be prepared by March 12.

The total number of submissions will be available after the report.

The Bill will then go back to Parliament for a second reading; with all going to plan the ban will take effect on August 1.

It’s a move that will extinguish jobs and dismantle livelihoods for the more than 1000 people in the industry.

They include Hart and Voyce.

Hart said in being among submitters they were ‘‘fighting to the bitter end’’. But he did not hold much hope.

‘‘I pretty much realise that it’s over because of what the government has done,’’ Hart said.

He is turning 63 this month as he faces closure of an industry that has been his life for the last 40 years.

He would sell-up the asset he had spent his life building up – his training grounds where he and his partner Kirsty and Voyce and his partner Clare live, complete with facilities including insulated kennels, rearing yards, whelping pen and sand run track for the 50 dogs on site.

‘‘I don’t want to get out of bed each morning and look over there and say ‘Well our whole life has gone’.’’

‘‘It’s pretty devastating.’’

Voyce described losing the livelihood he loved at Rakaia as ‘‘gutting’’.

‘‘I won’t have a problem finding a new job, I just hope everything gets done right by the dogs.’’

The 30-year-old planned to prioritise finding homes for the canines, as they moved into their new roles as pets.

As well as himself, two staff were losing their jobs, one had already been laid off.

He and Clare were ultimately considering a fresh start moving to Australia, where he could work in the greyhound racing industry over there.

Rehoming plan not confirmed

The forced closure of greyhound racing could cost taxpayers $40 million, says Greyhound Racing New Zealand.

This is due to the cost of looking after greyhounds for up to three years while they wait to be rehomed.

While a ministerial body was set up by government to transition away from greyhound racing, it has not yet established a funded or detailed rehoming plan.

Under the Bill as drafted, GRNZ would be disestablished as the new agency took over rehoming. But if GRNZ was retained, to rehome the estimated 1500 dogs still in training, it is possible trainers could be contracted and compensated to continue caring for their dogs during the winddown period, before those dogs transition to rehoming.

Chief executive Edward Rennell said it would cost about $40m and take two to three years to complete.

‘‘GRNZ has an established, proven rehoming system built over many years through its Great Mates programme and rehoming partners.’’

The only cost publicly referenced to date by the ministerial body was a proposal to create a new, government-run transition authority, estimated to cost at least $60m.