New Town: The owners of dogs, cattle, pigs and horses will need a licence to rear the animals, a bill passed by the Assembly on Tuesday states.

The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (Amendment) Bill 2018 seeks to empower the authorities to seize animals straying into public places. The owners will have to claim them after producing the licence.

The bill applies to "four-footed animals" and mentions dogs, cattle, pigs and horses.

The bill also seeks to empower the New Town Kolkata Development Authority to "destroy" rabid dogs and dogs abandoned by owners. Sources in the government said "destroy" meant killing.

Dog owners have to submit certificates to the NKDA stating their pets had been given anti-rabies vaccines.

Sources said the Calcutta Municipal Corporation used to kill rabid dogs but stopped the practice to comply with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, a central law.

Asked about the provision in the New Town bill, urban development minister Firhad Hakim said: "There are times when it becomes necessary to destroy a rabies-affected dog."

New Town has witnessed many accidents caused by cattle straying into high-speed corridors. Cattle and humans both died in such accidents.

One such accident killed a six-year-old girl, her father and his friend in October. The three were on a two-wheeler which skidded after the rider tried to avoid hitting six cows that had strayed on a road near the Akankha crossing, a five-minute drive from City Centre New Town.

The bill states that if any four-footed animal is "found roaming or straying or tethered on any street or public place or is found causing... danger to the public, the Chairman (of NKDA) may direct any officer...to seize" them.

The seized animal will be kept in a facility and handed over to the owner after he or she produces the licence and pays a fine. The fine will cover the cost of seizure and upkeep.

The animals must be released within seven days of seizure. If a seized animal is not claimed, the NKDA will put it up for auction.

The bill also mentions that the NKDA will make regulations regarding khatals (cattle sheds).