Elon Musk’s neurotech company Neuralink was forced to admit it had to euthanise eight animals as it responed to claims it "mutilated" the brains of several laboratory-kept monkeys.
In response to accusations that it committed "invasive and deadly experiments on 23 monkeys", Neuralink denied it subjected animals to "extreme suffering".
The company, which is thought to be preparing for human trials of its technology, was responing to a complaint filed to the US Drug Administration (USDA) last week by a pressure group of US physicians.
In an extensive blog post, Musk's Neuralink defended the treatment of animals during tests carried out at the University of California’s Davis Primate Centre (US Davis), saying all novel medical devices and treatments must be tested on animals.
“At Neuralink, we are absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible,” the blog post said.
Animal rights’ group The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) filed the complaint alleging Musk’s company committed invasive and deadly experiments on 23 monkeys, in breach of the Animal Welfare Act.
Jeremy Beckham, research advocacy coordinator with the PCRM Physicians Committee, said: “UC Davis may have handed over its publicly-funded facilities to a billionaire, but that doesn’t mean it can evade transparency requirements and violate federal animal welfare laws.
“The documents reveal that monkeys had their brains mutilated in shoddy experiments and were left to suffer and die. It’s no mystery why Elon Musk and the university want to keep photos and videos of this horrific abuse hidden from the public."
According to Crunchbase, Neuralink has received US$363mln in funding to date, the latest a Series C funding round in July 2021 that raised US$205mln, with investors including Google Ventures