CAMPAIGNERS are calling on animal lovers to boycott Sittingbourne greyhound stadium after five trainers were banned from the track for refusing to run their dogs in icy conditions.

Trainer Kevin Connor said Roger Cearns, general manager at the Central Park track, told him and four others not to race dogs there until the National Greyhound Racing Club (NGRC) has held an inquiry into the Boxing Day incident.

Now Mr Connor, who cares for and trains 80 dogs at his kennels in Heathfield, fears he could lose his business if the issue is not resolved quickly.

Meanwhile, the League Against Cruel Sports has urged dog lovers to boycott the race track, claiming that the trainers are being penalised for putting animal welfare before track profits.

An NGRC steward is due to visit the stadium next Monday morning to take statements from the all the parties concerned and the inquiry could be heard in London next month.

A spokesman for Cearnsport Ltd, the company which leases the stadium from Swale Borough Council, declined to comment.

Mr Connor, who has trained dogs for about 20 years, said there was no threat to the dogs’ lives, but he feared owners would removed their animals from his kennels if they could not race at Sittingbourne.

He added: “We need somewhere to race and I can’t get any racing at the moment. If they remove the dogs, then I would lose my livelihood.”

Ted Manby, who had four greyhounds pulled out of a race at the track on Boxing Day, said the event was due to start at 11am but did not begin until 1pm because of ice on the track.

He added: “It was a terrible decision to run the races that day and it would never have happened if the stands hadn’t been full.

Mr Manby, who lives at Rotherfield in East Sussex, said the management used tractors and shovels to try to remove the ice, but it was rock hard.

Eventually, Mr Connor and four other trainers decided not run the dogs they were responsible for, although races still went ahead that day.

Anne Holmes, spokeswoman for the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “The people of Kent and dog lovers everywhere should boycott this this track until the trainers are reinstated.”