4 years ago

Complaint Filed With USDA Regarding Monkey Experiments For Elon Musk’s Company

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I studied Journalism at San Francisco State University and have written for Patch, Bleacher Report,... Read More

On February 10, 2022, The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed a complaint with the USDA regarding Animal Welfare Act violations against monkeys, who are being experimented on in a lab at the University of California, Davis. The lab is conducting the experiments on behalf of Neuralink, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company.

The company is creating a microchip which, in the future, will be implanted in the brains of humans to regulate and keep track of brain activity. In the meantime, monkeys are suffering for it, despite Musk saying human testing would start in 2021.

The complaint was filed after PCRM got hold of 600 pages of horrifying documents detailing the abuse. Besides a lack of proper veterinary care and a “substance known as “Bioglue” that killed monkeys by destroying portions of their brains,” PCRM released even more chilling details.

“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,” they stated, in a news release.

PCRM is also filing a lawsuit, requesting the university to make public photos and videos of the experiments. But the university says it doesn’t have to because the materials belong to Neuralink, which, as a private company, is excluded from the California Public Records Act. PCRM still isn’t buying it.

“UC Davis cannot shield a private company from public scrutiny,” says Deborah Dubow Press, Esq., associate general counsel with the Physicians Committee. “Photos and videos of animals housed and experimented on in a public institution are public records. Neuralink can’t avail itself of public resources but evade public accountability.”

Hopefully the records will be released soon to bring more attention to this story and aid in the complaint to the USDA.

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