A monetary incentive has been offered to get kennel owners to clear out of Dairyland Greyhound Track as quickly as possible — a plan praised by kennel owners but criticized by a greyhound adoption advocate.

Kennel operators who have all their dogs removed by 3 p.m. Feb. 5 will receive $5,000.

Dec. 31 is the last day of racing.

Roy Berger, executive vice president at Dairyland, said the goal behind the incentive is “to get the facility shut down as quickly as we can.”

It is not an incentive typically offered when greyhound racing tracks close.

“We’ve never heard of this being done before,” Berger said. Kennel operators are hurting financially and this will help them settle their bills, he added.

Kennel operators are not necessarily the registered owners of the greyhounds in the kennel. There are 12 kennels at the track, and operators will need to work with the registered owners to make sure the dogs are off the premises by the deadline.

Some dogs may go to race at other tracks; others may be adopted. All equipment must also be removed by the deadline.

There is a catch. If any one kennel operator fails to vacate by the deadline, no one gets paid.

Berger said the “all or nothing” clause of the incentive should “spur a spirit of cooperation” in making the sure the animals have a place to go.

“The only way they get paid is if everyone complies,” Berger said.

Kennel owners said Saturday they are happy with the offer given they will soon be without revenue.

“Quite honestly, it came as a big, pleasant surprise,” said Tom Thomas, who owns Silverhawk kennel. “We’ve been operating in the red for the last couple of years.”

Thomas said making sure all the dogs are taken care of “is the main priority” of all the kennel operators.

“All of my dogs are accounted for — all the racers and the pets,” Thomas said. “All of the dogs here will be taken care of.”

However, the head of at least one adoption group believes the deadline will spell disaster for the dogs and hurt adoption efforts.

“This is an insane, anti-adoption plan,” said Linda Cliffel, adoption coordinator with the Central Illinois Greyhound Adoption organization. “It will kill dogs.”

Cliffel said it is difficult to track a greyhound once it is picked up by a registered owner. She said some owners are not interested in keeping the dogs if they cannot race and some could be put down as a result.

Thomas, who said Cliffel has been a big help during this process, said legally the operators have to return a dog to its registered owner if they want it back. He anticipates the owners and operators will continue to work with the adoption agencies.

Cliffel said the track owners should welcome help from the network of greyhound adoption agencies. More than 500 dogs were moved out of Dairyland through the adoption network from January through October.

Recently, Cliffel and other adoption representatives used a bus to pick up 26 greyhounds from Dairyland. It is an effort she believes will not be allowed under the incentive plan.

She said enough volunteers have been secured to take care of the dogs at the track once racing ceases, and the adoption network will help provide for food and medical needs until placements are found.

“(The kennel operators) can’t afford to feed these dogs after Jan. 1,” she said. “We knew this was coming even before it was announced the track would close. Three kennels are completely closed already.”

Berger said he fully anticipates all dogs will be safely accounted for by the deadline.

“If we didn’t, we wouldn’t make the offer,” Berger said. “It gives them seven weeks to make plans.”