Earth Liberation Front

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The Earth Liberation Front ( ELF , English: Front for the liberation of the earth , also known as "the Elves" - the Elves or Elves ) is a collective name for autonomous individuals and informal cells, which according to their own statement - in 17 countries, primarily but in the United States and Canada - "take direct action in the form of economic sabotage to halt the exploitation and destruction of our natural environment".

The forms of action of the ELF include property damage to facilities that the activists believe are damaging to the environment or animals, and the liberation of animals from research facilities.

Origin and goals

The ELF was originally in 1977 Santa Cruz ( California founded) as "Environmental Life Force", but broke up after the ELF founder John Hannah was arrested on 22 November 1977th When the British branch of Earth First decided to suspend animal liberation campaigns in the 1980s , the ELF was re-established under the name "Earth Liberation Front".

The ELF has been accused of ecoterrorism by the FBI and has been classified as “indigenous terrorist group number 1”, while supporters and sympathizers of the ELF declare that they are not terrorists and expressly advise not to use violence against living beings. The buzzword Green Scare was coined in this context .

ELF opponents, on the other hand, consider it pure coincidence that no one has been killed by ELF arson attacks . In addition, opponents of the ELF point out that animals released from research laboratories rarely survive in the wild. They become victims of road traffic, of predators or of starvation because they have not learned to survive in freedom. Liberation campaigns are also highly controversial among animal rights activists. Animal liberators from the ELF or the ALF oppose that animals that are not capable of surviving in the wild, such as chickens or pigs, are usually given to sanctuaries or private individuals and that wild animals are very capable of survival due to their instinct and that with the liberation at least the Chance of a dignified life until natural death.

Spray campaign against a million dollar house. ELF protests repeatedly against urban sprawl through large single-family houses.

Eric McDavid was named the first convicted ELF member.

Actions

The previous actions of the ELF include:

  • 1998: Arson attack on the Vail Mountain Ski Resort in Vail (Colorado)
  • 2001: Animal Liberation Campaign at the University of Minnesota Alzheimer's and Cancer Research Station
  • 2003: Arson attack on a property complex with 206 residential units in San Diego (California), estimated property damage of 20 million dollars (approx. 12.7 million euros)
  • 2003: Arson attacks on off-road vehicle dealerships in the Los Angeles area with damage amounting to millions
  • 2008: Arson attacks on several luxury villas in Woodinville ( Seattle ), estimated property damage 7 million dollars (approx. 4.4 million euros)
  • 2010: At a traffic stop in April 2010, three people were arrested in accordance belonged to one encountered in the carriage of responsibility of the group "ELF Switzerland Earth Liberation Front" and an attack on the Nanotechnology Center of IBM in Rüschlikon had planned.
  • 2013: Attack on a cable car and a snowmaking system on Wurmberg near Braunlage in August 2013 in protest against the expansion of winter sports, 100,000 euros in property damage

Cultural reception

  • In 2001 a documentary about the ELF called Green With A Vengeance was released .
  • In the 2004 novel State of Fear by Michael Crichton , a fictional group based on the Earth Liberation Front and called "Environmental Liberation Front" takes on the part of the villains.
  • In the 2005 novel The Divide by Nicholas Evans , the main character is involved in ELF activities.
  • In 2005, CBS ran a report on the ELF called Burning Rage on its 60 Minutes program , in which CBS journalist Ed Bradley identified ELF extremists as the greatest domestic terrorist threat. CNN also has a report on the ELF.
  • In 2005 the ELF becomes the subject of the documentary Testify! - Eco-Defense and the Politics of Violence .
  • In 2011, a documentary about the ELF entitled If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival . The film, designed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Marshall Curry , will be broadcast on BBC Four in February 2012 as part of the TV documentary series Storyville .
  • In the thriller Das Meer by Wolfram Fleischhauer , published in 2018, the ELF and its methods play a central role.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Steven Best, Anthony J. Nocella: Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth . AK Press , 2006, ISBN 1-904859-56-9 , pp. 19, 52 .
  2. ↑ SDA: Anarchists stand before the federal criminal court. Neue Zürcher Zeitung , July 19, 2011
  3. ^ Stop on the cable car at the Wurmberg. ( Memento from September 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) NDR, August 28, 2013
  4. ^ SBS: USA - Green with a Vengeance. Journeyman Pictures, October 10, 2001
  5. ↑ Daniel Schorn: Burning Rage. In: CBS News . CBS Corporation , November 10, 2005, accessed February 23, 2017 .
  6. ↑ If a tree falls . ifatreefallsfilm.com. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  7. ^ Marshall Curry: If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front . Retrieved May 15, 2012.
  8. ↑ The sea . ( heyn.at [accessed on October 22, 2018]).

Web links

Commons : Earth Liberation Front  - collection of images, videos and audio files