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Federal Officials Scrutinize USDA’s Oversight of Neuralink Operations Amid Animal Welfare Violations

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is no stranger to the hot seat for their numerous Animal rights violations and welfare concerns. Just a few weeks ago, Musk’s Neuralink was under federal investigation for potential animal welfare violations after internal staff complained that its animal testing is causing needless suffering and deaths. Reuters reported that, in total, the company has killed about 1,500 animals, including more than 280 sheep, pigs, and monkeys, following experiments since 2018.

Source: FRANCE 24 English/YouTube

Now, law enforcement officers that are investigating the company are also scrutinizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s oversight of the company’s operations. Reuters reported that the officials say the agency failed to act on violations at other research organizations.

Reuters reported that the USDA cleared Neuralink’s facilities during eight visits in the last three years. Investigators, therefore, believe that it is worth it to investigate the USDA’s oversight of the company.

Reuters reported that the USDA’s animal care unit is severely lacking in manpower and only employs 122 inspectors countrywide. These inspectors are responsible for the oversight of 11,785 facilities, including labs, breeders, and zoos, the Congressional Research Service reported in July.

This is not the only heat that the company has gotten recently over animal welfare concerns. An Animal rights group is suing the University of California, Davis, over experiments conducted for Neuralink, Elon Musk’s biotech company. The group says that the university has 371 photos related to experiments on monkeys that were performed for Neuralink. The group seeks the release of 185 pictures related to the autopsies of animals that died during the experiments.

Similarly, this February, 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, which is conducting the experiments on behalf of Neuralink, Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company.

The New York Post reported that a monkey was allegedly found missing some of its fingers and toes, possibly from self-mutilation or some other unspecified trauma. These poor monkeys experienced extreme suffering as a result of these highly invasive experimental head implants during the experiments.

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