The conflict involving the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke and restaurant owner Stan Seymour has stretched across several years, with legal fees for both sides reportedly reaching around $700,000, according to The Washington Post.
Seymour has challenged the expansion over its potential impact on the surrounding neighbourhood While the centre says the enclosure is necessary for rehabilitating large birds of prey. A wildlife rehabilitation centre in Virginia wants to build a larger aviary where injured bald eagles can regain their strength and practise flying before returning to the wild. But the proposed facility has become the centre of a bitter dispute with a neighbouring restaurant owner, turning disagreements over traffic, noise and access to a shared private road into a prolonged legal battle.
The centre says its existing 50-foot flight pen is not long enough to provide the conditioning large eagles need, and that a flight enclosure of at least 100 feet would be more suitable. The eagle made progress in its 50-foot flight pen but needed a longer enclosure to regain the strength and endurance required for release, according to the centre. After being cleared for release, it was returned to the wild at Smith Mountain Lake Community Park on October 14, 2025.
It must rebuild its strength, stamina and flying ability before it can be safely released. The centre was established by Sabrina and Lucky Garvin, who began rehabilitating animals at home before expanding their operation. Chester Leonard, the centre’s executive director, has helped lead its work as it has grown into a wildlife hospital serving western Virginia. The proposed raptor building would provide a larger flight enclosure for recovering birds. After an injury, a bird of prey may need more than medical treatment to survive in the wild again. Unable to provide the final stage of flight conditioning at its own facility, the centre transferred the bird to the Wildlife Center of Virginia for further treatment and rehabilitation. The eagle underwent treatment for lead poisoning and additional flight exercises.