The rodeo season got under way today with the Winchester Rodeo in south Canterbury, and already the calls have started up for further restrictions on the sport.

Activists are demanding the end of the the use of animals under three months, the use of flank straps, electric prods and tail twisting in rodeo events.

Animal Justice League New Zealand Representative Leighton Thompson says he is yet to see a rodeo that doesn’t breach both the Animal Welfare Act and the Rodeo Code of Welfare.

Thompson says the New Zealand Rodeo Association isn't doing enough to reduce the risk of harm towards animals.

"The majority of what the association is doing is trying to gain back public support, without making many changes. At the end of the day, Rodeo is still undertaking all of the horrific practices that need to be banned."