AUBURN - Seven months after the city's animal nuisance advisory committee was formed, its five members met for the first time Saturday.

And one member, Rita Sarnicola, an animal rights activist who owns the Animal Resource Center in Auburn, came prepared with a list of initiatives for the committee to consider.

Among them: businesses should provide covers to customers to protect their cars from crow droppings; mandating residents use metal trash containers; prosecuting those who allow cats outside; ordering police to track down and arrest renters who abandon cats; adopting a Medicaid-type system for low-income residents for pet care.

In addition, Sarnicola blamed hunters for Auburn's crow problems and advocated forced sterilization of seized cats by the Fingerlakes Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Fellow committee members spent most of the meeting responding to or rebutting Sarnicola's proposals.

On crows

The committee, chaired by City Councilman Tom McNabb, includes Sarnicola, teacher Kathy Burns, resident Walter Adams, and retired state trooper Tom Moore.

Sarnicola said crows should be protected as a migrant bird, even though they already are under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Sarnicola said crow hunters may be the cause of Auburn's crow problems, wondering if hunters were forcing birds into the city. She said a study should be done to determine if hunters are responsible.

Moore said crows come to the city because of thermal warmth emanating from Owasco Outlet, not to escape hunting pressure - which is extremely light considering all the area's open land where hunting is legal.

While all agreed the noise crows create is a nuisance, their fecal matter is the biggest concern. Sarnicola said businesses should give customers car covers to help protect them from crow droppings.

Sarnicola also said there could be car washes used as fund raisers, but most of her initiatives would require tax money.

Curley's Restaurant on State Street was mentioned numerous times because its parking lot is near a large crow-nesting area.

Sarnicola suggested customers not park under trees. Moore said they would get hit anyway.

Several members said one way to push crows from the city would be to cut down trees they use to nest in. McNabb said city's such as Cortland have used assorted loud noises and recordings to drive crows from nesting areas.

Sarnicola had no problem with getting rid of trees, but the noise solution would only waste money because crows would simply nest elsewhere in the city.

McNabb said the city of Orlando Fla., spent $141,000 to remove crows just from its courthouse roof .

Sarnicola said the city should require residents only use metal trash cans. McNabb said the city could never force someone to use a metal garbage can.

To help clean crow droppings, Sarnicola pondered if those sentenced to community service could be used. McNabb said maybe, but noted there are 125 miles of streets in the city.

On cats

Sarnicola said cat owners should keep cats indoors. Those who do not, should be prosecuted, she said.

While she would not object to giving owners a one-time warning to bring their cats inside, afterwards, Sarnicola said, the SPCA should be authorized to seize cats, have them fixed, and offer them for adoption.

Moore said the trap, fix, adopt plan would fix nothing. "You have to get rid of them," he said. "The easy way is to kill them all. We live in a real world."

"That's not a solution," Sarnicola said, noting if seized cats were killed, others would replace them. "It does not work. It's cool to be kind."

Adams suggested laws that apply to dogs should be the same for cats, advocating for the licensing of felines.

Burns said nobody should have to tell a senior citizen to spend money on a cat license.

Moore said licensing won't work and it would cost too much to have all stray and feral cats fixed.

Sarnicola said if children can have reduced medical costs, then low income people should be able to get a cat fixed at a reduced cost.

McNabb said there just isn't money to help pay for fixing of cats. He said money for senior citizens have been cut from many government budgets and he simply could not support spending money on cats before people.

Sarnicola said with the $10,000 allotted to the committee, low-income people could get a $20 certificate for pet care.

Sarnicola blamed renters for most of the strays and wild felines in Auburn, noting many leave cats behind when they move. She wants police to track down renters who do this and arrest them.

McNabb said 48 percent of Auburnians are renters and Moore said police have enough to do without having to search for renters who have abandoned cats.

Besides, he said, tracking down these people would be almost impossible. "Believe me," said the retired state trooper, "I know."

McNabb said although he's not a lawyer, some of the laws suggested by Sarnicola would be "rather difficult" to pass, considering the Constitution and all.

With the first meeting on the books, McNabb offered a hint why he may have waited so long to get the committee in gear when he said Auburn's cat and crow problems won't be solved in one meeting or 10 meetings.

The committee's next meeting is June 16 in the City Hall caucus room at 6 p.m.

To reach Staff Writer Joey West, call 253-5311, ext. 239.