 They were considered by the European Elves at the time to be "transatlantic cousins".On 19 June 1995, the ELA burned down a wildlife museum and damaged a hunting lodge in British Columbia.On Columbus Day 1996, activists spraypainted "504 years of genocide" and "ELF" on the walls of a public relations office, as well as a McDonald's restaurant in Oregon, the actions were the very first by the ELF in the United States.