Horse traders, veterinarians, merchants and meat industry professionals were among 18 people who went on trial in Marseille on Tuesday accused of running a vast European trafficking ring that led to the slaughter of hundreds of horses unfit for human consumption.
The case is the result of an investigation dating back to 2013 that revealed anomalies in the identification certificates of draft horses, blood horses, sport horses, race horses and even ponies who ended up in butcher shops in France.
