Nationals MP Katrina Hodgkinson has called on deputy Premier Troy Grant to allow a conscience vote on legislation to ban greyhound racing so that "those people who want to see the abolition of thousands of jobs from regional NSW can have that on their conscience".
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But the push has been rejected by Mr Grant in the latest outbreak of infighting within the Nationals over the issue.
Ms Hodgkinson, the member for Cootamundra and a former primary industries minister, has been a leading critic of last week's announcement that the sport would be banned in NSW from July 1 next year.
The decision followed the report of a Special Commission of Inquiry into greyhound racing by former High Court judge Michael McHugh prompted by an expose of live baiting on ABC's Four Corners.
It found as many as 68,000 greyhounds were slaughtered as "wastage" in the past 12 years "because they were considered too slow to pay their way or were unsuitable for racing".
The report recommended the NSW parliament decide whether the industry has lost its social licence and should be no longer able to operate.
However, Premier Mike Baird and Mr Grant announced the government would shut down the industry in light of the damning report, pre-empting a partyroom discussion and parliamentary debate.
On Monday Ms Hodgkinson told Fairfax Media she would push Mr Grant, the NSW Nationals leader, to give his MPs a free vote on the issue when legislation comes to parliament.
But asked if he would consider a conscience vote, Mr Grant said "No", citing evidence in the report.
Ms Hodgkinson also said the ban would "probably" become an issue in the forthcoming Orange byelection sparked by her Nationals colleague Andrew Gee's move to the federal seat of Calare.
But Mr Grant said: "Many regional people have expressed to me their absolute disgust at the details of animal cruelty contained within the report."
Ms Hodgkinson has been joined in her opposition to the ban by several Nationals colleagues, including Barwon MP Kevin Humphries, Oxley MP Melinda Pavey and Clarence MP Chris Gulaptis.
The MPs are primarily concerned about the impact on regional jobs.
Mr Gulaptis said industry figures he has spoken to are after procedural fairness.
"They feel the industry has undertaken significant reform in the past 16 months since the Four Corners report," he said.
"They've spent tens of thousands of dollars getting their kennels and facilities up to speed only to be told in the midst of going through this reform that the industry's going to be closed down".
However, government sources pointed to Mr McHugh's comment that allowing the industry more time to address the issues "appears to the Commission to be likely to prove fruitless and, at the same time, continue to result in the deaths of many more thousands of healthy greyhounds."
On Monday opposition leader Luke Foley said Labor would oppose the ban and would overturn it if he became Premier in 2019.
Fairfax Media has confirmed the announcement did not go through the shadow cabinet.
Former Labor Premier Kristina Keneally lampooned Mr Foley's decision on Sky News.
"The NSW Liberal government is privatising electricity, amalgamating councils, trying to raise the GST but the issue you want to get up and fight on is ... banning the greyhound racing industry after horrific reports of animal cruelty?" she said.
