Fur-well airport kitties: Case closed on Hilton Head Airport’s no-feed policy
A new policy banning the feeding of all animals, including cats, on or near the Hilton Head Island Airport received a final approval from the Beaufort County Council Monday.
This means Hilton Head Island Airport’s feral felines, for the first time in over ten years, will not be spending their summer afternoons chowing down kibble at their feeding station near the airport parking lot or lazing idly in the shade as commercial jets and private aircraft fly above.
The cats eye new digs
Airport employees and other locals have long fed a colony of feral cats that live near the airport parking lot, but with the new policy in place, that era must come to a close.
According to a previous statement from Beaufort County spokesperson Hannah Nichols, Beaufort County Animal Services will trap and relocate the feral cats to the All About Cats sanctuary, just north of the airport.
Nichols did not provide a date or timeline for the relocation, and did not share any information as to how the new policy will be enforced.
The policy stems from concerns raised by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that feeding animals near the airport could attract birds, which are the number one source of wildlife strikes with aircraft engines.
Monday’s vote comes nearly six months after the policy was originally introduced to the county’s Public Facilities and Safety Committee in November. The policy sparked some controversy among fans of the cats; an online petition opposing the policy has garnered over 1,700 signatures as of Monday.
Friday the cat, a friendly black-and-white tuxedo at the center of the online petition, has been adopted by an airport employee and is reportedly “settling in to his new home,” according to Nichols.
Opponents of the cats’ relocation say the cats have never been seen on the runway, or otherwise caused any problem for the county. In recent years, some Hilton Head residents have filed legal complaints against the county about the noise levels resulting from the expansion of the airport’s runway. The cats, however, have been notably less litigious — and have raised not a single “meow” in protest.
This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 12:53 PM.
