A NSW greyhound trainer who practised live baiting should not be sent to jail because the method was rampant in the industry, his defence barrister has told a Sydney court.

Telopea trainer Ian Morgan, 58, who was captured on covert cameras using a live possum on a lure to train one of his dogs, Cee Cee Quoted, pleaded guilty to one count of serious animal cruelty over the incident and now faces up to two years in jail.

In January, cameras filmed Mr Morgan deliver a live possum to the Londonderry property of Zeke Kadir, a figure who is well known in the industry for breaking in inexperienced dogs.

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Kadir was filmed tying the live possum to a lure and allowing the animal to be mauled and eventually killed by one of Morgan’s greyhounds.

Morgan brought the possum himself to Kadir’s property and was seen releasing it from a cage from his car and providing it to Kadir to be tied down and killed.

The live baiting scandal rocked Australia.

Kadir has pleaded not guilty to a number of animal cruelty offences.

During closing submissions in Windsor Local Court on Thursday, Morgan’s barrister argued that the practice of live baiting was rampant at the time.

However, he said the practice had largely been eradicated after an ABC Four Corners investigation exposed widespread and extreme animal cruelty and cheating through the use of live animals to entice and train, earlier this year.

Morgan’s barrister said the possum only suffered for a short period of time and suggested “alternatives” to sending Morgan to jail.

The prosecution described how the possum was set upon by three greyhounds for six and a half minutes, and said it died after “an extended period of suffering”.

Magistrate Fiona Toose said the footage of the incident was indelibly stamped in her memory.

Morgan has had his bail continued and is due to be sentenced next month.

A number of greyhound trainers in Queensland have also been charged with animal cruelty offences.

– ABC