Earth Liberation Front (ELF)
The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is an underground, decentralized environmental activist group known for direct action and sabotage tactics against industries it deems harmful to the environment, such as logging, fossil fuels, and urban sprawl. Emerging in the 1990s, ELF has claimed responsibility for arson attacks and property destruction, including burning SUVs and research facilities tied to deforestation and animal testing. While it describes its actions as economic sabotage intended to prevent ecological destruction, ELF has been labeled an eco-terrorist organization by the U.S. government. The group’s lack of a formal leadership structure makes it difficult to track or dismantle, sparking debate over the ethics and effectiveness of radical environmental activism.