Animal welfare groups accuse Elon Musk's brain implant company Neuralink's experiment of abusing 23 monkeys

Neuralink , a brain implant company founded by Tesla's CEO Elon Musk, cooperated with Neuralink's experiment in which an American animal welfare organization told the U.S. Department of Agriculture that it was 'animal cruelty'. I accused the university of Davis. In response, Neuralink commented, 'We are committed to treating animals in the most humane and ethical way possible.'

Physicians Group Files State Lawsuit and Federal Complaint Against UC Davis Regarding Deadly Monkey Experiments at Elon Musk-Funded Lab
https://www.pcrm.org/news/news-releases/physicians-group-files-state-lawsuit-and-federal-complaint-against-uc-davis

Neuralink's Approach to Animal Welfare --Neuralink
https://neuralink.com/blog/animal-welfare/

In April 2021, Neuralink announced that by embedding a Neuralink-developed chip called 'Link' in its brain, monkeys succeeded in playing the game just by thinking.

A video of a monkey with a chip embedded in his brain playing a game with only 'thinking' will be released --GIGAZINE

However, regarding this experiment, the Medical Association for Responsible Medical Care said that the University of California, Davis conducted a brain experiment with 23 monkeys and received more than 1.4 million dollars (about 160 million yen) from Neuralink in the United States. I filed a complaint with the Ministry of Agriculture.

In a complaint to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Medical Association for Responsible Medical Care said, 'Neuralink and the University of California, Davis do not provide adequate care to dying monkeys, destroying parts of their brains and killing them. Implanted with an unapproved substance that could lead to death. '' The monkeys used in the experiment were placed in gauges one by one, with steel stanchions screwed into the skull, and attacks caused by facial trauma and brain implants. I was suffering from a recurrent infection. In some cases, I was euthanized. '

'The University of California, Davis may have entrusted a publicly funded facility to a millionaire, which violates the requirement for transparency,' said Jeremy Beckham, a member of the Medical Association for Responsible Medical Care. It may violate federal animal welfare law. ' 'The monkey was chopped up in a crude experiment and suffered and died. It's no wonder Elon Musk and the University of California, Davis don't open the monkey's photos and videos to the public,' he criticized.

The University of California, Davis claims that the records of the experiment are not subject to California's public records law and belong to the private company Neuralink, and refuses to publish photos and videos. In response, the Medical Association for Responsible Medical Care states that experimental records should be disclosed.

In response to the medical association's claim for responsible medical care, Neuralink said in a blog, 'We are committed to treating animals in the most humane and ethical way,' the monkey experiment said. He said it wasn't abuse, it was an experiment that needed to be done before starting clinical trials in humans.

Neuralink admitted that the experiment euthanized the infectious monkey, but the facilities and care at the University of California, Davis meet federal standards and want to make further improvements. increase. In addition, the University of California, Davis laboratory facility is accredited by the International Association for Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) and may meet the requirements of the Animal Welfare Act from an inspector of the Ministry of Agriculture before starting the experiment. Said it was confirmed.

Neuralink says, 'We look forward to the day when animals are no longer needed for medical research. Today, our society is advancing medicine by treating diseases, preventing the spread of viruses, and developing technologies that change human lifestyles. However, if animals must be used for research in order to advance medicine, the life and experience of animals must be as close to living and natural as possible. ' He emphasized the need to conduct animal experiments responsibly.