Portland Courant

WASHINGTON, D.C.—  On May 16, 2023, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) led a letter to the U.S Department of Agriculture requesting an investigation into conflicts of interest within the panel responsible for overseeing animal testing at Elon Musk’s medical device company, Neuralink.   

“The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) appears to be composed almost exclusively of company employees with significant financial stakes in the very animal studies they are required to evaluate under the Animal Welfare Act,” the lawmakers wrote.    

“Animal Welfare Act regulations state: “No member may participate in the IACUC review or approval of an activity in which that member has a conflicting interest (e.g., is personally involved in the activity), except to provide information requested by the IACUC…”1 Yet, according to the report, 19 of the IACUC’s 22 members were paid employees of Neuralink,” they continued.  

“Congress has a significant interest in ensuring that all facilities using animals in research and testing—whether they are government-run, universities, or private companies—comply with the minimal standards of the Animal Welfare Act. Once again, we urge you to investigate Neuralink on this issue and update us on the findings.  

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Original source can be found here.