The US government is investigating Neuralink, a young medical device startup founded by Elon Musk, for potential animal welfare violations. Since 2018, about 1,500 animals, including more than 280 lambs, pigs, and monkeys, have allegedly been slaughtered for experiments, according to more than 20 current and former employees.
The federal government is looking into Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a company that makes medical devices, for potential violations of animal welfare laws. This comes amid allegations that animal testing is being hurried to produce findings despite missing previous deadlines. This happens just a few days after the world’s richest man said he felt comfortable having a Neuralink brain chip installed in himself. The brain implant being developed by Neuralink Corp. is intended to heal various neurological diseases as well as provide paralysed individuals the ability to move again.
The probe also comes at a time when staff employees at Neuralink are becoming increasingly unsatisfied, according to Reuters. They claim that Elon Musk’s desire to speed up research has resulted in botched tests that have caused more animal fatalities and suffering.
The investigation’s full breadth may or may not cover the same claimed problems with animal testing that Neuralink staff members identified, however
The article claims that the company has murdered over 1,500 animals in total, including over 280 lambs, pigs, rats, mice, and monkeys after studies since 2018. According to the sources, who called that figure a preliminary estimate, the company does not maintain reliable information on the number of animals tested and killed.
The overall number of animals killed does not imply that Neuralink is conducting its investigation illegally or against ethical standards. Animals are widely used in research by many companies to improve human healthcare, and these companies are under financial pressure to release cures as soon as feasible. The animals are typically put to death after testing are completed, frequently so that they can later be dissected for research purposes.
A monkey with a brain chip playing a computer game with only its thoughts was demonstrated by Neuralink more than a year ago.