15 Of 23 Monkeys With Elon Musk’s Neuralink Brain Chips Reportedly Died
14 Feb 2022
Elon Musk has come under fire from animal rights groups after 15 of 23 monkeys implanted with his Neuralink chip died.
The bio-tech firm has been accused of subjecting monkeys to “extreme suffering” during years of gruesome experiments.
The company is planning to implant wireless brain-computer chips to help cure neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, dementia and spinal cord injuries.
A series of tests at the University of California, Davis took place from 2017 to 2020, according to a compliant from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine filed with the the US Department of Agriculture on Thursday.
One monkey is even said to have been found with missing fingers and toes “possibly from self-mutilation or some other unspecified trauma”.
Another monkey had holes drilled in its skull and electrodes implanted into its brain, then allegedly developed a bloody skin infection.
A spokesperson for UC Davis told outlets: “UC Davis staff provided veterinary care, including round-the-clock monitoring of experimental animals and reported any incidents to the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which mandated training and protocol changes as needed.”
UC Davis is said to have received more than $1.4 million from Neuralink to carry out the experiments, according to PCRM.
The animal rights group argue that UC Davis are guilty of nine violations of the Animal Welfare Act – including a breach of the rule that says researchers must minimize pain and distress for animals in their care.
Late last year Elon Musk said he hoped Neuralink will be able to start testing on humans this year.