The sale of firearms at a festival in a council-owned building is dividing residents in a sleepy NSW coastal town and attracting criticism for being out of step with Australia's gun laws.

Sorry, this audio has expired Narooma locals oppose open sale of weapons at hunting festival

The annual Narooma HuntFest has been billed as a family festival — an outdoor expo covering everything from home butchery to shooting wild deer.

Warning: This article contains graphic images that some readers may find distressing.

And if you have the right paper work, you can walk out of the council-owned Narooma Sports and Leisure Centre with a rifle and ammunition.

That has outraged some locals, including Eurobodalla Deputy Mayor Anthony Mayne.

"I appreciate that there is a role for weapons in society," said Councillor Mayne, a former Australian Army soldier.

"However, by definition, having the event held on council property sends a really, really mixed and poor message.

"In a society that's found a really positive balance, I think this is a slippery slope and we need to be very, very careful of what we're doing here."

The local anti-gun lobby has been engaged in a lengthy stoush with the Eurobodalla Shire Council over the way it approved the event and had recently submitted an extensive complaint to the New South Wales Ombudsman.

"The fact they are available in a public building on Crown land in the main street of a small country town I think is totally unnecessary," said Heather Irwin, head of the local anti-gun lobby Stop Arms Fairs in Eurobodalla.

"I don't think the shire has the social licence to give permission to hold such an event."

The outdoor expo covers everything from home butchery to shooting wild deer. ( ABC News: Peta Doherty )

'Not terrorists in-waiting'

But HuntFest firearms trader Craig Golding said the criticism was based on emotion and a lack of knowledge about the process for obtaining a firearm.

"Law abiding firearms owners aren't criminals or terrorists in-waiting," Mr Golding said, pointing to the rigorous process for obtaining a firearm licence and permit.

Mr Golding, who owns an outdoors store, said the Narooma event was no different to the 15 or so other arms fairs around NSW where prices and regulations meant most people came to look rather than buy.

"You can't handle a firearm without a licence and, as you can see, each firearm is secured to a rack which is secured to the wall. So it's not a simple process of anyone being able to pick up a firearm and walk away — they're actually under lock and key," he said.

The Australian Medical Association said it wanted authorities to reconsider supporting the event which potentially glamorised and normalised gun ownership.

In 2017, the AMA called for a real-time national register for firearms so authorities could have a central point to access information which it said would help reduce gun violence.

Narooma resident Scott, who came to the festival with his children, said the expo was useful for local hunters and made an interesting day out for his kids.

"It's no different than other sports like fishing or even netball," he said.

Many others at HuntFest agreed, pointing to Australia's strong gun laws that governed the sale of firearms at such events — and the educational merits of the day.

Shooting with a camera

Meanwhile, the NSW and Eurobodalla Greens have been pushing their message to shoot animals with a camera, rather than a gun.

More than 300 photos were submitted to the exhibition, Animals in the Wild, a competition run as a peaceful protest on the Queen's Birthday long weekend.

More than 300 photographs were submitted to the exhibition Animals in the Wild, a competition run in protest against the annual HuntFest. ( Supplied: Sue-Ellen Smith )

NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge, who instigated the exhibition, said Eurobodalla Shire's endorsement of HuntFest contravened the National Firearms Agreement that was introduced by former prime minister John Howard in the aftermath of the Port Arthur massacre.

"We are meant to see all levels of government actively trying to make Australia a safer place and not promoting guns and shooting and killing with public land and council resources," Mr Shoebridge said.

"That is pushing in a 100 per cent the wrong direction if we want to put community safety front and centre."

A spokesperson for Eurobodalla Council said HuntFest's five-year event licence to use the leisure centre was subject to community engagement, and all parties were provided with an opportunity to present their views to the council.

The spokesperson said the event was a legal activity regulated by NSW Police.