{"id":767035,"date":"2022-02-10T08:20:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-10T13:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=767035"},"modified":"2022-02-10T09:07:00","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T14:07:00","slug":"animal-rights-group-says-monkeys-used-in-elon-musks-neuralink-experiments-are-subjected-to-extreme-suffering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=767035","title":{"rendered":"ELON THE PEE-ON: Animal rights group says Neuralink’s monkey experiments subjected to ‘extreme suffering’"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Some of the monkeys received as many as 10 craniotomies, were strapped into chairs for up to five hours per day, or underwent terminal (fatal) procedures. <\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

NOAH KIRSCH:<\/strong> An animal rights advocacy group is urging the U.S. government to cite Elon Musk\u2019s brain technology startup, Neuralink, and the University of California-Davis, over allegations that the organizations may have committed \u201cegregious violations of the Animal Welfare Act\u201d while testing brain-implant devices on macaque monkeys…<\/em><\/p>\n

The nonprofit, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine [PCRM],… an activist group that \u201cis dedicated to saving and improving human and animal lives through plant-based diets and ethical and effective scientific research,\u201d according to its website,… plans to file a formal complaint with the Department of Agriculture on Thursday, according to a draft of the filings reviewed by The Daily Beast…<\/em><\/p>\n

In a draft of the complaint it plans to file with the USDA, the activist group asserts that\u2014based on more than 600 pages of university documents it obtained through legal action\u2014at least 23 macaques were used in research at U.C. Davis in the \u201cNeuralink-funded project,\u201d and that \u201c\u200b\u200bmany, if not all, of the monkeys experienced extreme suffering as a result of inadequate animal care and the highly invasive experimental head implants.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Some of the animals, the group claims, received as many as 10 craniotomies, were strapped into chairs for up to five hours per day, or \u201cunderwent terminal (fatal) procedures.\u201d At least one monkey was euthanized after \u201cthe area around the monkey\u2019s head implant became infected,\u201d the complaint alleged. Another macaque\u2019s health also allegedly deteriorated after it received an implant. After it too was euthanized, a necropsy found signs of \u201cbrain hemorrhage\u201d and \u201cacute esophageal ulcers\u2026 likely due to vomiting.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Physicians Committee had sued U.C. Davis last year, claiming the university had declined to hand over documents as part of a public records request. (The university spokesperson said it \u201cfully complied with the California Public Records Act in responding to their request.\u201d) It ultimately turned over reams of documents, said Physicians Committee Associate General Counsel Deborah Dubow Press, though the group is now planning to sue for additional monkey health records, photos, and videos…<\/em><\/p>\n

In recent years Neuralink videos, including one of a monkey controlling a \u201cpong\u201d video game, have gone viral online. \u201cI think that Neuralink seems to be awfully good at marketing and creating very selective videos. But the reality is much darker as to what these implants mean for the animals who have them put in their brains,\u201d said Physicians Committee research advocacy coordinator Jeremy Beckham.<\/em><\/p>\n

Asked about those allegations, Musk said that Neuralink\u2019s work with the university has been limited. \u201cNeuralink goes to extreme lengths to care for our animals. We don\u2019t \u2018fund\u2019 UC Davis \u2013 that is a state institution. Obviously,\u201d he wrote in an email to The Daily Beast. He added that \u201ctruth and \u2018The Daily Beast\u2019 are not well-acquainted”…<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear what specific elements Musk disputes… The contract outlined a three-phase plan with U.C. Davis that called for 14 monkeys, six of which were designated for \u201cterminal\u201d procedures so that their brains could be examined after they were euthanized post-surgery. A spokesperson for the university also acknowledged that the two organizations teamed up. \u201cUC Davis did have a research collaboration with Neuralink, which concluded in 2020″…<\/em><\/p>\n

PCRM’s Press said the group will have difficulty monitoring current testing conditions at Neuralink, since it is not a public institution. And even if the nonprofit can convince the USDA to cite Neuralink and the university over the former partnership, the financial stakes are relatively low. \u201cUnfortunately, the law doesn’t carry very significant penalties,\u201d said Beckham, the research advocacy coordinator. \u201cEven $10,000 would be a lot in our system\u2026 These fines are often just incorporated by the laboratories as a cost of doing business”. <\/em>SOURCE…<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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