Undercover video filmed at a Fort Morgan dairy farm has led to the firing of five workers and prompted a criminal investigation.

The recordings of Cactus Acres Holsteins, filmed by a member of an animal rights group posing as an employee, shows workers apparently stabbing cows with pencils, screwdrivers and dairy equipment. The video also shows cows being kicked and hit and workers failing to care for their injuries.

Seven other employees at the farm about 80 miles northeast of Denver have been disciplined and retrained. Mercy For Animals, the Los Angeles-based activist group, released the footage Wednesday night.

“We are appalled that these incidents took place here and have taken disciplinary action against all of the employees involved, including several prior to our knowledge of the video as part of our normal dairy management,” Jim and Marie Goedert, owners of the business, said in joint a statement. “We take great pride in our family farm and in the care we provide to our animals.”

The Goederts say they are reviewing their employee training protocols.

Jim Crone, the Morgan County sheriff, said his office was alerted to the alleged abuse May 22.

He said the Goederts have been “very cooperative.”

“They want us to file charges,” he said.

Crone said his office received some 300 hours of video in the case and he anticipates some of the workers will face charges.

“I would anticipate there is the possibility of some of the individuals being charged with some of the acts,” he said.

The Goederts’ operation is part of the Kansas City, Mo.-based Dairy Farmers of America cooperative, which in a statement echoed plans to review its policies but chastised Mercy For Animals for its tactics.

“It is disheartening that groups like Mercy For Animals, which claim to have animal care and wellness at heart, seek change through deceit and misconception, rather than working with the industry to proactively address their concerns,” the statement said. “When animal abuse is witnessed, it should be immediately reported, not recorded.”

Monica Massey, a co-op spokeswoman, contends the undercover activist who filmed the plant incited the abuse. “We’ve kind of had enough, and we’re pushing back,” Massey said.

Matt Rice, investigations director for Mercy For Animals, said the undercover member, who worked at the plant from March 19 to May 20, repeatedly reported abuse to management.

“It’s just random,” he said of how businesses are chosen. “Our investigators simply go out and apply for jobs across the country and take the first job they get hired at. We see over and over again workers taking out their frustration against animals.”