Lawmakers are pushing for more oversight on Elon Musk's Neuralink after mistakes were found in the brain chip company's testing of animals.
U.S. House Representatives Earl Francis Blumenauer and Adam Schiff have asked the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) to probe the company for possible animal-welfare violations as staff complaints surface accusing the company of wrongdoing.
The complaints allege Neuralink is conducting rushed animal testing of its product, Reuters reported. There have been reports of suffering animals, and needless deaths.
Democrats Schiff and Blumenauer are members of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus. In a letter they wrote, "the treatment of the animals described in these complaints seems to indicate a distressing lack of oversight."
"We are very concerned that this may be another example of high-profile cases of animal cruelty involving USDA-inspected facilities, referenced in previous letters to your agency, where there has not been adequate action from USDA," the lawmakers said in the letter addressed to the USDA.
As Reuters noted, Schiff has also spoken out against Musk's purchase of social platform Twitter saying that he is "sabotaging safeguards against digital misinformation and hate."
