Elon Musk is not exactly the world’s most liked figure. One more reason for negative publicity is the revelation that Neuralink, a startup Musk founded in 2016, has killed 1,500 animals since 2018. Allegedly many of the animals suffered horribly from botched experiments.

The animals in question are rhesus macaques who were undergoing experiments by the company to develop a brain chip implant that Neuralink claims could one day help paralyzed people to walk and blind people to see. Beyond the dazzling scientific pitch for this device, there are horrific reports of animals who had their skulls breached to implant the experimental device, and in one case (according to public records) gaps in an animal’s skull were filled with an unapproved adhesive which caused the animal to hemorrhage. In another case a monkey had nausea so severe she had open sores on her esophagus before she was killed. Animals suffered from chronic staph and other infections after having the brain chip implanted.

Other evidence for this horrific treatment is an impassioned internal letter written by an employee concerned about the need to slow down the pace to avoid “hack jobs” on the animals during the experimental surgery. The “break things and move fast” speed has been blamed for the company’s cruel and cavalier treatment of animals. Elon Musk apparently told employees at Neuralink to work “as if they had a bomb strapped to their head.”

The USDA Inspector General has opened a probe into potential Animal Welfare Act violations at Neuralink. This is not a common occurrence, as research standards are often left to institutional Animal Care and Research bodies at universities. The Animal Welfare Act doesn’t adequately protect many animals in the first place. Companion animals and other animals held in captivity have more protection than animals used in agriculture, mice and rats. Overall protections for animals used in research are inadequate.

The USDA probe suggests something has gone horribly wrong with the treatment of animals at Neuralink. Animals have become a casualty not only of a culture that disregards animals, but also of a capitalist, disposable culture of speed and greed.

Animal rights will never be a concern so long as we live in a culture where meeting production schedules are more valuable than life. In this culture, everyone is the product – whether it’s humans or defenseless research animals. Because animals can’t speak for themselves, we allow the abuse of research animals to continue. Paying attention to stories like this can help us stay alert to the violent realities of animal research and hold everyone involved accountable.

Sheep are worth a lot of money to the Australian economy. Specifically live sheep, shipped to the Middle East. Because of the volume of sheep shipped across the ocean, the industry even has a motto, “No fear, no pain.” Video camera footage shows that this is exactly the opposite of what the sheep experience on board these giant cargo ships. This and the testimony of trainee navigator Faisal Ullah has exposed the industry for the heartless and disposable way sheep are treated on their export voyages. During a 60 minutes program, we see dead sheep and lambs dumped overboard. Over the course of just one voyage 800 sheep were reported to have died on board due to heatstroke and were tossed overboard. The sheep are shown in obvious distress, panting, jammed close together and in a weakened state. Given that sheep spend weeks on board these voyages huddled close together, it seems unlikely that conditions on this ship could possibly be humane. The Chief Executive of the Australian Live Exporters Council, Simon Westaway argues in the 60 minutes program that this is merely an unfortunate, “isolated” case of abuse and standards not met. More likely, the volume of sheep and their value in bulk leads to the usual situation of animals being treated like “products”, rather than living individuals. The meat industry can try to clean up its act, but abuse often still seems to be the consequence of an industry that treats animals like disposable objects.

The 60 minutes report includes some disturbing scenes, but is well worth a watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1V96Y533Ds