A horse slaughtering plant, operated by a Calgary-based company, is being investigated for alleged animal cruelty.

A warning: the subject matter in this story may be disturbing to some.

The investigation comes after a complaint against a slaughterhouse in Fort Macleod owned by Bouvry Exports Calgary Limited.

The Canadian Horse Defence Coalition (CHDC) filed the complaint after receiving hidden video shot in the slaughterhouse on February19th.

The group says the video graphically depicts horses being shot, but they don't die immediately, and they're left to suffer.

Now the Mounties and the SPCA are investigating.

The CHDC says they have a number of concerns in the secretly recorded video.

They believe the horses don't appear to be restrained properly, they says the animals are shot from too great a distance and from the wrong angle, and aren't always killed by the shot.

"When we received this [the video] and we saw what we saw and we saw those instances going on, we felt that something had to be done and number one, take it to the RCMP, take it to law enforcement and ask them to do something about it and that's what we've done," said Sinikka Crosland with the CHDC.

A complaint has also been made to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) because this meat is exported to Europe for human consumption as a delicacy.

In a statement, the CFIA says it's investigating the allegations presented in the video, and actions will be taken to ensure vigilance and respect with regards to appropriate duty of care and humane treatment of animals.

Bouvry Exports is not commenting.