The animal welfare organisation has backed talk of possible jail sentences for people who participate in greyhound racing after the industry is outlawed in mid-2017.

While the ban hasn't passed through Parliament, and is opposed by NSW Labor, there has been speculation this week that the government will seek to impose jail terms of up to a year for black market racing as part of the new laws.

RSPCA NSW CEO Steve Coleman said it was "always a possibility" that illegal dog racing rackets could begin to appear across the state, including in the Hunter, when the industry is outlawed from mid 2017.

He said the RSPCA had a good working relationship with police and the two organisations would work together to expose and stop animal cruelty.

“Animal cruelty has been occurring in greyhound racing for some time,” he said.

Mr Coleman said legislation would help give the RSPCA an idea of how many dogs were sold, re-homed or kept by certain greyhound industry participants.

He said the Hunter, along with the Sydney basin and Illawarra region, ranked highly in terms of greyhound populations.

“Anyone who keeps greyhounds to be used [for racing] runs the risk of being caught,” he said.

When asked about the RSPCA’s position on possible jail terms for people who participate in illegal dog racing, Mr Coleman said the punishment would be consistent with sentences for animal cruelty offences that occurred outside the racing industry.

Scrutiny of greyhound racing escalated last month with the release of a detailed report on the industry, which prompted the state government to ban greyhound racing in NSW from mid-2017. 

Fairfax Media reported last week that about 250 Hunter greyhound trainers and owners joined 1500 protesters in Sydney to protest the ban.