*Content warning: this article contains detail of animal cruelty.*
A committee is taking legal action after claiming that a number of monkeys were subjected to “invasive and deadly” brain surgeries.
Neuralink, the brain-computer company established by Elon Musk, is facing animal cruelty accusations from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
The Committee claimed that they found 600 pages of “disturbing” documents relating to the treatment of monkeys by the University of California, Davies, where research is being carried out for the company.
The Committee is taking legal action against the company as they claim that the monkeys were subject to “invasive and deadly” brain experiments.
A press release from the committee reads: “The Physician Committee points out in its complaint that Neuralink and UC Davis staff failed to provide dying monkeys with adequate veterinary care, used an unapproved substance known as ‘Bioglue’ that killed monkeys by destroying portions of their brains, and failed to provide for the psychological well-being of monkeys assigned to the experiment.
“Macaque monkeys used in the experiment were caged alone, had steel posts screwed to their skulls, suffered ‘facial trauma,’ seizures following brain implants, and recurring infections at implant sites. In some cases, as a result of deteriorating health, Neuralink and UC Davis euthanized monkeys before they were even used in the planned experiment.”
It continues: “UC Davis may have handed over its publicly-funded facilities to a billionaire, but that doesn’t mean it can evade transparency requirements and violate federal animal welfare laws.
“The documents reveal that monkeys had their brains mutilated in shoddy experiments and were left to suffer and die. It’s no mystery why Elon Musk and the university want to keep photos and videos of this horrific abuse hidden from the public”
Neuralink was launched by Elon Musk in 2016. It develops implantable brain-machine interfaces with the aim of treating or stopping neurodegenerative diseases.
