Puppies sold in pet shops may need to be DNA profiled to ensure they can be traced back to reputable breeders.

The pledge to tighten Kingston Council’s pet shop licensing regime came after anti-puppy farm protestors presented a 725 signature petition opposed to battery-farmed dogs on Wednesday, April 27.

However, councillors rejected demands puppies should only be bought directly from breeders no more than 30 miles away over fears it could be open to legal challenge as a restriction on trade.

John Robinson of the Coalition to Improve Dog Ownership Standards said most dogs on sale in pet shops are likely to have come from puppy farms in Wales and Ireland, where they were kept in poor conditions, leaving them vulnerable to disease.

He said: “It’s a trade in misery that reaches from Wales and Ireland all across the UK to pet shops in our high streets.”

Petsville in Richmond Road, Kingston, is one of three shops licensed to sell puppies in the borough, and was featured in the BBC programme Rogue Traders in 2009.

Councillor David Ryder-Mills said he had investigated the shop and its Sutton branch after a constituent said it claimed to have 30 dog breeds available immediately.

He said he found far fewer in their stores, making improving the traceability of the dogs of “prime importance”.

The Kingston branch is currently being refurbished and staff at the Sutton store said the manager was on holiday and could not be contacted for comment.

Councillors also received a petition of around 600 signatures opposing plans to cut 486 posts at Kingston Hospital over the next five years.

Max Freedman, chairman of the borough Labour party, said: “I have to say that going out to collect the signatures has been the easiest thing I have done.

“People were rushing out to sign it whenever they saw us. They wanted to sign because it’s an issue that deeply affects people.”