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Animal Ethics Biosafety Human Research Ethics Research Integrity

(US) Exclusive: Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests – Reuters (Rachael Levy | December 2022)

Posted by Connar Allen in Animal Ethics on January 1, 2023
Keywords: Animal ethics, Animal handling, Animal Research Ethics, Animal Welfare, Breaches, Controversy/Scandal, Institutional responsibilities, International

The Linked Original Item was Posted On December 7, 2022

Graphic about animal scientific work.

Dec 5 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a medical device company, is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid internal staff complaints that its animal testing is being rushed, causing needless suffering and deaths, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and sources familiar with the investigation and company operations.

If this news story is accurate, it is of significant concern.  Animal research must involve time and space for the correct handling of animals and attention to animal welfare.  The drive to conduct commercial research quickly and efficiently must never compromise this.  The goal of the work is admirable and could be of significant benefit to many, but animal ethics principles are non-negotiable.

Neuralink Corp is developing a brain implant it hopes will help paralyzed people walk again and cure other neurological ailments. The federal probe, which has not been previously reported, was opened in recent months by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Inspector General at the request of a federal prosecutor, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation. The probe, one of the sources said, focuses on violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which governs how researchers treat and test some animals.

The investigation has come at a time of growing employee dissent about Neuralink’s animal testing, including complaints that pressure from CEO Musk to accelerate development has resulted in botched experiments, according to a Reuters review of dozens of Neuralink documents and interviews with more than 20 current and former employees. Such failed tests have had to be repeated, increasing the number of animals being tested and killed, the employees say. The company documents include previously unreported messages, audio recordings, emails, presentations and reports.

Exclusive: Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests
Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a medical device company, is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid internal staff complaints that its animal testing is being rushed, causing needless suffering and deaths.

Related Reading

(Europe) The Science and Ethics of Turning Octopuses into ‘Lab Rats’ – EuroScientist (Mićo Tatalović | February 2022)

(US) Animal welfare organization PETA holds ‘Without Consent’ display on UF campus – Gainsville Sun (Gershon Harrell | February 2022)

(UK) Crabs and lobsters may get similar rights to mammals in UK experiments – The Guardian (Helena Horton | April 2022)

(Germany) Germany weighs whether culling excess lab animals is a crime – Science (Hinnerk Feldwisch-Drentrup | May 22)

(US) Members Of University Research Committee Jointly File Lawsuit Against University Of Washington – Seattle Medium (February 2022)

(US) Lawsuit Alleges USDA Secretly Relaxed Animal Welfare Inspections – The Scientist (Dan Robitzski | April 2022)

‘Guinea pigs’: experimental implants done despite no approval for human use – The Guardian (Hannah Devlin | October 2017)

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