Elon Musk's Neuralink Faces Federal Probe Over Animal Welfare Violations: Report

Elon Musk's Neuralink has come under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid complaints from staff that its animal testing is leading to needless suffering and deaths

Probe is mainly focused on violations of the Animal Welfare Act that dictates how researchers treat and test some animals

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Elon Musk's Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company, has come under US federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid complaints from staff that its animal testing is being rushed leading to needless suffering and deaths, reported Reuters based on documents reviewed and its sources. Neuralink Corp is in the process of developing a brain implant with an aim to help paralyzed people walk again besides curing other neurological ailments.

What’s The Focus Of The Federal Probe?

The federal probe has opened recently by the US Department of Agriculture's Inspector General at the request of a federal prosecutor, according to Reuters. The probe is mainly focused on violations of the Animal Welfare Act that dictates how researchers treat and test some animals.

The investigation comes amid growing employee criticism about animal testing, including complaints that pressure from Musk to accelerate development has resulted in botched experiments, the report said after reviewing dozens of Neuralink documents and interactions with current and former employees.

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One of the employees revealed that such failed tests continued to get repeated thereby increasing the number of animals being tested and killed. The company documents include previously unreported messages, audio recordings, emails, presentations and reports.

However, the agency could not assess the full scope of the investigation or whether it involved the same alleged problems with animal testing identified by employees in Reuters interviews.

Interestingly, US regulations don't state how many animals can be used for research by a company while providing a significant leeway to scientists to determine when and how to use animals in experiments. Neuralink has cleared all USDA inspections of its facilities, regulatory filings show.

So far around 1,500 animals, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys have been killed following experiments since 2018, according to the report. The figures are a rough estimate, the sources noted as the company does not keep precise records on the number of animals tested and killed. Neuralink has also conducted research using rats and mice.

The total number of animal deaths does not necessarily indicate that Neuralink is violating regulations or standard research practices, the report noted. Many companies routinely use animals in experiments to advance human health care, and they face financial pressure to quickly bring products to market. It is often usual to kill animals after experiments so they can be examined post-mortem for research purposes.

Musk has been aggressive with his ambition to accelerate Neuralink's progress, which depends heavily on animal testing, as per the sources.