About 30 people picketed on Saturday outside the stadium where the Canadian Finals Rodeo is taking place in Edmonton.

The protesters belong to a local animal welfare group called Voice of Animals Humane Society, which says it wants to raise awareness about how calves and steer are treat at such events.

"We try to point out some of the problems that we see with the rodeo," Tove Reece, the organization's director, told CTV.ca by phone from Edmonton. "We feel that it's using brutality for entertainment. That, overall, is what we're opposed to."

"I don't care if an animal is on its way to slaughter -- it doesn't need to be brutalized on the way," she said.

This year, the group is focusing on calf-roping competitions, in which young animals can be injured or killed, Reese said.

But Ralph Murray, the animal welfare and safety coordinator for the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association, said the rodeo circuit has a solid record when it comes to animal safety.

"There are rules that we have in place to alleviate as much danger as we can to the animals, and they're all checked by our veterinarian," he said. "Out of 42,000 exposures in 2009, our injury rate was 0.115 per cent. In two years we've never had a fatality in the calf-roping."

The annual championship, which is the last competition of the year, draws stadium crowds and boasts seven-figure prize money.