Neuralink Corp, billionaire Elon Musk’s medical device company, is under scrutiny for alleged animal welfare violations. It is accused of speeding up tests on animals causing unnecessary suffering and the sacrifice of 1,2022 animals.
Reviewed documents by the Reuters agency and sources familiar with the investigation say that the project to develop an implant that would allow paralyzed people to walk again has violated the Animal Welfare Law , which governs the way in which researchers treat and test animals.
The initiative that seeks to cure various neurological ailments has increased the number of animals that are taken for testing and subsequently sacrificed, amid Musk’s pressures to speed up the results of the experiments.
An employee told the agency that Musk, who is the chief executive company executive, sent staff a news article about the development of an electrical implant made by Swiss developers that helped a man walk again.
“We could let people use their hands and walk again in daily life! Overall, we’re just not moving fast enough. It’s driving me crazy!”, he told the staff in a message.
Of the total number of animals that the company has slaughtered, there are more than 100 sheep, pigs and monkeys, as well as rats and mice. However, the figure is not precise, since the company does not have exact records on the number of animals tested, said sources close to it.
Although US regulations do not specify how many animals companies can use for research Neuralink has passed all inspections by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Usually many companies often perform experiments on animals to improve human health care. In the process they face financial pressures to bring products to market. Animals are euthanized when experiments are complete, often so they can be examined post-mortem for research purposes.
News of the research inside Neuralink takes place in the midst of adjustments that Musk carries out within the technology company Twitter, which have generated divided opinions among users and followers of the billionaire.
After undertaking a wave of massive layoffs, the billionaire has justified that the technology company was losing more than $4 million a day.
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