1,500 Animals Reportedly Killed in Elon Musk’s Neuralink Lab

[Business Post] A non-profit organization has claimed that numerous animals have lost their lives during experiments conducted by Neuralink, a company founded by Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, where chips are implanted in the brain.

On the 1st (local time), the British Daily Mail reported, citing a statement from the American non-profit organization, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), that “at least 1,500 animals, including sheep, pigs, and monkeys, have died during Neuralink’s experimental process”.

PCRM obtained internal documents related to the experiments Neuralink conducted in collaboration with UC Davis University from 2017 to 2020 and forwarded them to the Daily Mail.

According to the documents, one monkey underwent more than ten skull surgeries during the process of implanting a microchip in its brain. The hole in its head was filled with surgical adhesive.

In addition to brain surgery, the documents revealed that monkeys showed side effects such as vomiting and diarrhea during the experimental process of amputating arms and legs.

Neuralink has previously released experimental scenes where a monkey with a chip implanted in its brain plays a video game solely through the movement of its brainwaves.

In a statement forwarded to the Daily Mail, PCRM expressed the opinion that “Neuralink’s experiments on animals raise serious safety concerns”.

Elon Musk founded Neuralink at the end of 2016.

Neuralink aims to enhance physical functions by connecting the brain and computers using a small chip implanted in the human brain.

This is included in technology to restore vision for visually impaired people and recover physical functions for paraplegics who can’t move their muscles.

On January 29, Musk stated on his official social media X account that “the first patient received a Neuralink chip yesterday” and “neural stimulation was detected after the chip implantation and the patient is currently recovering well”.

Neuralink was also investigated for several months in 2022 by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Inspection Bureau for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

In response to the Daily Mail’s questions about animal welfare, a Neuralink representative answered that “Neuralink is conducting animal experiments humanely and ethically” and that they are fully compliant with all relevant laws and regulations. Reporter Lee Geun-ho