The Wire

Neuralink, the biotechnology company co-founded by Elon Musk is under federal investigation in the United States for potential animal welfare violations.

The company has tested its brain-implant technology in animals including monkeys, sheep and pigs and allege it has killed about 1,500 animals since 2018.

Neuralink has admirable goals, which include curing paralysis, blindness and depression. But utilitarians and deontologists question whether the expected benefits are great enough to outweigh the significant harms to animals.

Developing a more comprehensive set of principles for animal research will help to effectively balance scientific benefit against harms to research animals.