And his voice comes from an interesting place in the public discussion about the future of dog racing in NSW.

Recent debate about the sport has divided communities along the lines of perceived animal cruelty and neglect in the industry – many times with trainers on one side of the fence and animal rights activists and greyhound re-homers on the other.

Mr Simmons, 66, believes he can see the issue from both points of view. 

The Greta man, who has been a self-described “hobby trainer” for five decades, became heavily involved in re-homing retired racing dogs 10 years ago.

He said the Baird Government’s decision to overturn its plan to outlaw greyhound racing in NSW showed that “finally, sanity has prevailed”.

But Mr Simmons said there was no doubt that the greyhound racing industry had to fall in line with community standards.

“A lot of the old ways are not acceptable today and it’s obvious that the industry needs to reform,” he said.

“But many greyhound owners and trainers care for their greyhounds – there was no fairness in the decision [to ban racing] from the start.

“They are finally seeing common sense.”

Mr Simmons, who works closely with dog adoption agency Greyhounds As Pets, said he branched out from training into re-homing canines after seeing the benefits of his own practises.

“I don’t see it as a conflict,” he said.

“It’s always been our policy that we either re-home or keep retired racing greyhounds.

“A lot of people out there in re-homing seem to think that greyhound trainers mistreat [the dogs], but most trainers give them the best of the best treatment.

“Some re-homing groups focus on one or two examples [of cruelty or neglect] and think that’s the norm – but that’s far from the norm.”

Premier Mike Baird and Deputy Premier Troy Grant, who is also the state’s racing minister, announced in Sydney on Tuesday that the ban would be reversed.

They also confirmed a range of measures to reform the industry, including a breeding cap of 2000 and a reduced number of racing tracks and events.

Mr Simmons said he expected the government would introduce new measures if a ban was reversed.

“The level of wastage was unacceptably high by community standards,” he said.

“Greyhounds are entitled to life after racing.”