In response, Hsu Hsiu-lung, a section chief of the city’s Motor Vehicles Office, said the Taipei city government had already discussed the matter with the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications last week.

The council will formulate related measures within one month and send them to the ministry for approval, Hsu said, predicting that the measures will take effect by the end of this year.

As an advanced city, the Taipei city government should take the lead in awarding priority road rights to animal-saving vehicles, Taipei City Councilor Lee Ching-feng said at a press conference outside the council hall.

Taipei City Councilor Chien Yu-yen also urged the public to give animal ambulances right of way.

Councilor Chen Chien-ming noted that the Taiwan Life Caring and Animal Rescue Organization (LCO) based in the northern county of Taipei has equipped its animal ambulances with life-saving equipment and has painted “Cat Dog 119” on the vehicles. “119” is Taiwan’s official emergency services line for humans.

However, the animal ambulances do not have right of way on the roads, which sometimes makes the rescue process difficult, Chen noted.

LCO spokesman Chang Lee-jen also pointed out that time is critical during animal rescue operations.

Public donations received by the organization should be used for saving animals rather than for repairing ambulances or paying for traffic tickets, he added.

The organization relies solely on private donations and spends NT$700,000 (US$23,007) to NT$1 million per month, according to Bert Dung, CEO of the organization.

Dung said that the three-year-old organization has several chapters in many parts of Taiwan, providing a 24-hour rescue service that covers the whole country.

The organization handles seven or eight rescues on average per day, with some cases transferred from the Taipei city government, Dung said.

The city government has also drafted an animal medical rescue plan, said Lu Meng-long, a section chief at the Taipei Municipal Institute for Animal Health, at the press conference.

Under the plan, slated to be inaugurated in mid-August, the city government will cooperate with local animal hospitals to treat injured animals sent through the city’s “1999” hotline, Lu said.