The Institute of Mobility and Transport (IMT) announced this Monday that it has decided to revoke the authorization granted to the Animal Intervention and Rescue Center (IRA) to install blue audible and light warning lights in their vehicles, which allowed them to drive in emergency mode. The decision comes after the controversy generated around the recognition of the organization as a relief entity with circulation priority.
In a statement, the IMT Board of Directors states that the decision was taken after public statements by several entities of the National Civil Protection System, which raised doubts regarding the legality and relevance of the authorization. The institution confirmed that the process will be reevaluated.
Remember that, last week, the Portuguese Firefighters League, through its president António Nunes, demanded clarification on the IMT’s decision. The IRA itself had announced on social media that it would start circulating with sirens and blue lights, claiming to have been officially recognized as a protection and relief entity, something that was not confirmed by any public authority.
The IMT justified, however, that the initial authorization was based on the Civil Protection Volunteer Organization status attributed to the IRA by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority. The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests also recognizes the role of the IRA in several rural fire operations, but this does not in itself guarantee the allocation of priority vehicles.
This decision therefore annuls the previously reported recognition, in which the IRA had been authorized to use sirens and light flares during rescues, in a milestone that the organization considered historic for the defense of animals.
