animal rights activists accused Elon Musk’s Neuralink company in causing “great suffering” to experimental monkeys. Since 2017, only seven out of 23 primates have survived during neuroimplant testing.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a complaint with the USDA. They say activists have 700 pages of documents, including veterinary reports and autopsy reports, confirming macaque abuse.
The records refer to 23 monkeys that were kept on campus at UC Davis and owned by Neuralink from 2017 to 2020.
Animal activists noted that the animals were subjected to “inadequate care”, as well as invasive and lethal experiments. In addition, scientists used the banned substance “bio-glue”, which destroys parts of the brain. Macaques were kept in cages singly with steel pins screwed into the brain, the report said.
“In isolated cases, due to declining health, Neuralink and UC Davis have euthanized the monkeys before they were used in the planned experiment,” the statement said.
By data Business Insider, one of the more shocking examples was that one of the primates was missing fingers and toes due to “possible self-mutilation” or other unspecified injury.
A spokesman for the University of California said the researchers complied with all laws and regulations.
“We started research at the University of California, Davis, using both cadavers and incurable monkeys. These animals were included in the project on the day of the operation for terminal procedureas they had a wide range of different conditions that were not related to our research, ”the scientists said.
They explained the lack of fingers on the limbs of monkeys by the fact that primates could lose them throughout their lives “due to conflicts with other monkeys.”
Also in Neuralink declared that are committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible. According to them, the experimental monkeys did not have these injuries.
Recall that in January, Neuralink opened a vacancy for the director of clinical trials.
That same month, Elon Musk promised to prevent the rise of the machines.
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