Elon Musk’s company sued for animal cruelty: “Due to the high pressure, mistakes happen” | Science

The research comes at a time of growing employee dissatisfaction with Neuralink’s animal testing. There were complaints that Musk is putting a lot of pressure on employees to speed up development. This would lead to failed experiments, according to a Reuters study, which also conducted 20 interviews with current and former employees. The corporate documents that Reuters could access included messages, audio recordings, emails, presentations and reports.

Neuralink is developing a brain implant that will help paralyzed people walk again and cure other neurological disorders. The federal investigation was opened in recent months by the inspector general of the US Department of Agriculture at the request of a federal prosecutor. The investigation focuses on violations of animal welfare law. This law regulates how researchers must treat and test animals.

Reuters discovered four experiments in which 86 pigs and 2 monkeys died due to human error. The errors weakened the research value of the experiments, requiring the experiments to be repeated. This killed more animals than necessary, according to three former employees. A report available to Reuters said that under-prepared and overworked staff were constantly rushing to meet deadlines and making last-minute changes before operations. This presented many risks for the animals.

Musk and other Neuralink executives did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters was unable to determine the full scope of the federal investigation. The US regulations do not specify how many animals companies can use for research and give scientists a lot of leeway to determine when and how they use animals for experiments. Neuralink has passed all USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) inspections of its facilities, as evidenced by the submitted documents.

In total, the company has killed about 1,500 animals since 2018, including more than 280 sheep, pigs and monkeys. The sources characterized that figure as a rough estimate because the company does not keep precise records of the number of animals tested and killed. Neuralink has also done research with rats and mice.

The total number of dead animals does not necessarily mean that Neuralink is in violation of research practice regulations. Many companies routinely use animals in experiments to advance human health care and are under financial pressure to get products to market quickly. The animals are usually killed when the experiments are completed, often for post-mortem examination for research purposes.