Footage of live baiting from the Four Corners special investigation. Picture: ABC

The state’s cabinet ministers emerged from a two-hour-long meeting this morning after signing off no the ban’s reversal.

Meanwhile, in a case of horrendously awkward timing, a trainer will face court on charges of animal cruelty.

The 27-year-old was arrested on Monday at his home in Cabramatta after police connected him to a number of images showing alleged animal cruelty.

Police found the images last month while investigating an unrelated matter and they show alleged animal cruelty that occurred at a Cabramatta address in August.

The man, who is a registered greyhound trainer and owner, was taken to Cabramatta Police Station where he was charged with two counts each of torturing and causing death of an animal, committing an act of aggravated cruelty on an animal, and using an animal for training for greyhounds.

It will be alleged the charges relate to the live baiting of greyhounds.

The man was refused bail to appear at Liverpool Local Court today.

Mr baird pushed through tough measures banning greyhound racing earlier this year that saw his poll numbers plummet.

Mr Baird moved against the greyhound industry following a report that showed widespread animal cruelty in the industry.

Last year ABC current affairs show Four Corners revealed shocking footage of live piglets, possums and rabbits being used to “blood” greyhounds during secret race training sessions.

These animals were tied to mechanical lures that travel at high speeds around the track to act as bait for the dogs to chase and eventually kill.

In August, Mr Baird said the ban, under which greyhound racing would cease across NSW from July 1, 2017, wasn’t about political point scoring but that he was trying to “do what is right”. The ban came after a Special Commission of Inquiry report that found up to 68,000 “uncompetitive” greyhounds were slaughtered in the past 12 years and nearly one in five trainers used live animal baits.

Footage of live baiting from the Four Corners special investigation. Picture: ABCSource:ABC

Today’s cabinet meeting came after a Monday night meeting of Nationals MPs, who were reportedly considering unseating party leader and Deputy Premier Troy Grant if there wasn’t a policy reversal.

Nationals MPs Katringa Hodgkinson, Kevin Humphries and Chris Gulaptis — who consistently argued the ban would devastate their regional electorates — crossed the floor to vote with Labor to oppose the bill but it passed following a 12-hour debate.

Labor leader Luke Foley said the Baird government needed to commit to a complete reversal of the ban.

“It can’t just be a stay of execution to get Troy Grant’s leadership off the hook this week,” Mr Foley said.

It was expected Mr Baird would try to navigate out of the situation with a third option, such as extending the ban for a trial period while introducing tough industry standards, including harsher penalties for animal cruelty.

A report by Greyhounds Transition Taskforce head John Keniry was due to be handed to the government on Monday and presented to Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

A recent Newspoll showed Mr Baird’s approval rate had slumped from 61 per cent to 39 per cent since December due to a number of issues, including the ban on greyhound racing and Sydney’s “lockout” laws.

Further information has been sought from the NSW Government.