The 2016-founded company Neuralink is developing a brain implant that will
allow paralyzed people to walk again and cure other neurological
conditions.
Neuralink, a medical device business owned by Elon Musk, is apparently the
subject of a government inquiry for possible breaches of animal welfare.
According to the article, internal documentation and sources indicate that
animal testing is proceeding too swiftly, which results in unnecessary
suffering and death for the animals.
The 2016-founded company Neuralink is developing a brain implant that will
allow paralyzed people to walk again and cure other neurological conditions.
The Inspector General of the United States Department of Agriculture began
the previously unreported criminal inquiry at the request of a federal
prosecutor, according to two persons familiar with the probe.
The Animal Welfare Act, which regulates the care and use of animals in
scientific research and testing, is the major target of this inquiry,
according to a report by Reuters (via FoxBusiness). In order to provide
guidelines for the treatment of animals used in research, the Animal Welfare
Act was created in 1966.
The investigation coincides with growing employee discontent regarding
Neuralink's animal testing, according to the report, which was based on an
examination of numerous Neuralink documents and interviews with more than 20
current and former employees. This includes complaints that pressure from
CEO Elon Musk to expedite development has led to failed experiments.
Employees assert that more animals have been used in trials and killed as a
result of the necessity to rerun tests that originally failed.
The USDA inspector general's office spokeswoman declined to comment when
asked whether the government investigation looked at the same alleged
problems with animal testing that workers in Reuters interviews had raised.
Under U.S. law, there is no limit on the number of animals that may be used
in research, and scientists are granted wide latitude in deciding when and
how to conduct studies on animals. USDA inspections of Neuralink's
facilities reportedly went well, citing official documents.
Records show that the firm has put down about 1,500 animals since 2018,
including more than 280 lambs, pigs, and monkeys. The sources regarded that
amount as an approximation since the firm does not maintain exact records on
the number of animals tested and killed.
However, current and former Neuralink employees claim that Musk's ambition
to speed up research is the reason why more animals are dying than they
should.
In one instance, the inquiry used a mix of business discussions, documents
spanning many years, and staff interviews to discover four studies involving
86 pigs and two monkeys that were compromised by human mistakes in recent
years. 25 pigs allegedly had gadgets inserted into them that were
excessively big, according to a source. The author asserts that this error
might have been avoided.
According to at least one former Neuralink employee, Musk expressed his
dislike of using animals for research and his desire for them to live out
their lives as "the happiest creatures." Despite the fact that several
workers have reported feeling under a lot of strain while working
there
