[2] In 2011, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries staff conducted a sting of the Great Wall Supermarket in Falls Church, VA and found the store in violation of several local wildlife laws, due to the sale of live animals, including frogs, turtles, eels, largemouth bass, and crayfish.

Great Wall lawyers argued that the wildlife charges did not apply because all of the creatures on sale were commercially farmed: turtles from Oklahoma, eels from Pennsylvania, bullfrogs from the Dominican Republic, and so forth.

The defense claimed that "law governing sales of live fish and other animals has not been updated to reflect advances in aquaculture, and that it is tilted against immigrants with unfamiliar cuisines and customs.

"[3][4] Starting in 2012, residents behind the Rockville store began submitting noise complaints to the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection.

As of June 1, 2015, Great Wall Supermarket has two active ongoing cases and has paid multiple fines as punishment for disturbing the peace and quiet of the adjoining neighborhood.