BY DAVID SLADE

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If more feral cats are allowed to live, then more wild birds will die. That is the cruel math driving a debate over plans in Charleston County to sterilize and vaccinate feral cats instead of killing them, as is the current policy. The initiative, funded by the ASPCA, seems like a compassionate idea to several local animal protection groups, but bird-lovers are aghast. 'Our laws say cats are supposed to be pets, and are supposed to be controlled,' said Nathan Dias, executive director of the Cape Romain Bird Observatory. 'They have no place in the wild.' Dias said feral cats have a terrible impact on bird populations, and particularly those species that nest on the ground in local marshes. Charleston County and several municipalities, including Charleston, are considering ordinances aimed at allowing animal societies to trap and release 'free-roaming' cats, after sterilizing, vaccinating, and micro-chipping them. County Council is scheduled for a vote tonight on such an ordinance, though at least two more votes and a public hearing would have to take place to put the ordinance into effect.

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