*Photo Credit: PBS (Human Footprint: Strangers in Paradise")*

Last year, The Cloud Foundation and wild horse and burro advocates nationwide were outraged to see wild horses categorized as an "invasive species" in episode one of the PBS series, "Human Footprint, Strangers in Paradise." The PBS Public Editor, who serves as an independent critic of the journalistic integrity of PBS content, agrees the segment is misleading (out of context) and wrongly labels wild horses as "invasive." Still, PBS continues to promote this propaganda piece.

After more than a year of working to get PBS to correct or withdraw the flawed and inaccurate portrayal of wild horses in the series, a coalition of experts - including The Cloud Foundation board member Cynthia Smoot - released a responding comprehensive 16-page report.

Episode One of the series, "Strangers in Paradise," labels America's wild horses as "invasive species" that "ravage the fragile landscape." Yet, there is no mention of the millions of non-native (and invasive) commercial cattle and sheep that graze our public lands.

Erik Molvar (Western Watersheds Project), Ashley Avis (Wild Beauty Foundation), and journalists Vickery Eckhoff and Cynthia Smoot have urged PBS for more than a year to edit or withdraw the segment. Yet, it remains on the PBS website. To make matters worse, the series is currently nominated for a national EMMY award later this month.

Says Cynthia,

Even in his column last April titled, Wild, Wild Horses, the PBS Public Editor concluded that this segment "fails the viewer." Yet PBS has done nothing to correct any of the misinformation that is so damaging to wild horses. We expected better.

The Cloud Foundation immediately reached out to PBS when this episode aired in 2023 -- only to be met with silence. Considering PBS's history with TCF, their refusal to correct or remove this error-filled segment is disappointing to say the least. It demonstrates a wide departure from the mission and values of an educational organization that supported Ginger Kathrens', "Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies" and its sequel documentaries.

Read the press release HERE: PBS Urged to Correct Wild Horse Reporting in "Human Footprint" Series

Click the BUTTON below to email the PBS Board of Directors asking them to pull the misleading and unscientific segment on wild horses.

Together we can!

~The Cloud Foundation Team

Contact PBS

Urge PBS to Pull Anti-Wild Horse Segment