Alaska
Weird Laws in Alaska: Which Are Still on the Books?
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited October 21, 2026). · 3 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
We checked five weird Alaska claims that recur on popular lists against the Alaska Statutes, the statewide hunting regulations and, where a claim names a town, that town's code, as of October 21, 2026. Three of the five are about wildlife, and none of those three is quite what it claims to be. For the same check in other states, see our weird laws by state guide.
Weird laws in Alaska: the verdicts
Each claim below was checked against the Alaska code and, where it names a town, the local code. 5 claims checked.
The claim: It is illegal to push a live moose out of an airplane.
What the law says: No Alaska statute mentions moose and airplanes. Alaska's general fish and game law makes it a class A misdemeanor to take, possess or transport game except as the fish and game statutes or regulations permit, and 'take' includes 'in any manner disturbing' game, so the viral rule is that general law retold as a specific one.
“Unless permitted by AS 16.05 – AS 16.40 or by regulation adopted under AS 16.05 – AS 16.40, a person may not take, possess, transport, sell, offer to sell, purchase, or offer to purchase fish, game, or marine aquatic plants”
Penalty: AS 16.05.925(a): a person who violates AS 16.05.920 'is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.'
Primary source · Checked October 21, 2026.
The claim: It is illegal to whisper in a moose hunter's ear while hunting.
What the law says: No Alaska law was found about whispering to a hunter. The nearest real rule is AS 16.05.790, which bars intentionally obstructing or hindering another person's lawful hunting by placing oneself where human presence alters game behavior, or by creating a visual, aural or olfactory stimulus to alter the behavior of the game. It is aimed at hunter-harassment (disrupting the animal), not at talking to a hunter.
No state law found in the Alaska code as of October 20, 2026.
How we searched
We searched the Alaska Statutes for moose-hunting rules, read the state's hunting-offense sections, and searched the statewide hunting regulations for any rule on whispering to or harassing hunters.
Parts of the code read
- Alaska Statutes Title 16, Chapter 05 (fish and game: hunting offenses, including obstruction or hindrance of lawful hunting, AS 16.05.790)
- Alaska Administrative Code Title 5, Chapter 92 (statewide hunting provisions: unlawful methods of taking game and big game, and obstruction of lawful hunting)
No town code was checked for this claim.
Primary source · Checked October 21, 2026.
The claim: Being drunk inside a licensed bar is unlawful.
What the law says: Alaska makes it a violation for a drunken person to knowingly enter or remain on premises licensed to sell alcohol. It is a violation (noncriminal), not a crime, and the licensee and staff have a separate duty not to let a drunken person in or serve one.
“A drunken person may not knowingly enter or remain on premises licensed under this title.”
Penalty: Prohibited access by a drunken person is a violation (no fine amount stated in the section). Related AS 04.16.030: licensee/employee prohibited conduct, violation fined $500; licensee who knowingly lets an employee do it commits a class A misdemeanor.
Last cited by a court: SCHAREN v. State (2011)
Primary source · Checked October 21, 2026.
The claim: Anchorage bans tying a dog to a car roof / animal attached to a vehicle.
What the law says: An Anchorage city ordinance (AMC 17.10.010(A)(4)) allows an animal to be humanely attached in or to a vehicle in a public place, but not if it can detach itself, can fall, jump, be thrown from or be dragged by the vehicle, is exposed to prolonged inclement weather, or poses a threat to public health and safety or other animals. So it is a local rule about unsafe attachment, not a flat ban on a dog on a car roof, and not state law.
Primary source · Checked October 21, 2026.
The claim: Waking a sleeping bear to take its photo is illegal.
What the law says: No Alaska statute mentions sleeping bears or photographs. But Alaska law defines 'take' to include 'in any manner disturbing' game, and taking game except as the fish and game laws or regulations permit is a class A misdemeanor, so the viral rule is a general wildlife-disturbance law retold as a specific one. (AS 16.05.782, which some lists cite, is about taking brown or grizzly bears near landfills.)
“Unless permitted by AS 16.05 – AS 16.40 or by regulation adopted under AS 16.05 – AS 16.40, a person may not take, possess, transport, sell, offer to sell, purchase, or offer to purchase fish, game, or marine aquatic plants”
Penalty: AS 16.05.925(a): a person who violates AS 16.05.920 'is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.' Definition AS 16.05.940(35): "'take' means taking, pursuing, hunting, fishing, trapping, or in any manner disturbing, capturing, or killing or attempting to take, pursue, hunt, fish, trap, or in any manner capture or kill fish or game"
Primary source · Checked October 21, 2026.
Checked October 21, 2026. This is legal history and information, not legal advice. Laws change; the linked official text is the authority.
Moose, bears and one very broad word
Two of the best-known Alaska claims, that it is illegal to push a live moose out of an airplane and illegal to wake a sleeping bear for a photo, come back to the same statute. Neither moose nor airplanes nor photographs appear anywhere in it.
AS 16.05.920(a) is the general fish and game rule. Unless the fish and game statutes (AS 16.05 through AS 16.40) or regulations adopted under them permit it, a person may not take, possess, transport, sell, offer to sell, purchase, or offer to purchase fish, game, or marine aquatic plants.
The word doing the work is take. AS 16.05.940(35) defines it to include taking, pursuing, hunting, fishing, trapping, or in any manner disturbing, capturing, or killing fish or game. Under AS 16.05.925(a), a violation is a class A misdemeanor.
So the viral rules are a broad disturbance law retold as two absurdly specific ones. One footnote: some lists cite AS 16.05.782 for the bear claim, but that section is about taking brown or grizzly bears near landfills.
The whispering hunter
A related claim says it is illegal to whisper in a moose hunter's ear. No state law was found in the Alaska code as of October 21, 2026 that addresses whispering to a hunter. We read the hunting-offense sections of Title 16, Chapter 05 and the statewide hunting regulations in 5 AAC 92.
The closest real rule is AS 16.05.790. It bars intentionally obstructing or hindering another person's lawful hunting by placing oneself where human presence alters game behavior, or by creating a visual, aural or olfactory stimulus to alter the game's behavior. It is a hunter-harassment law aimed at disrupting the animal, not at talking to the hunter.
Drunk in a bar: the one that is true
This one sounds like a joke and is not. AS 04.16.040 says:
A drunken person may not knowingly enter or remain on premises licensed under this title.
It is classed as a violation, which is noncriminal, and the section does not state a fine amount. The bar has its own duty under the neighboring section, AS 04.16.030, not to let a drunken person in or serve one. There, an employee or licensee who breaks the rule faces a violation with a $500 fine, and a licensee who knowingly lets an employee do it commits a class A misdemeanor.
Anchorage and animals riding on cars
The claim that Anchorage bans tying a dog to a car roof is closer to a safety rule than a ban. Anchorage Municipal Code 17.10.010(A)(4) allows an animal to be humanely attached in or to a vehicle in a public place.
The permission ends if the animal can detach itself, can fall, jump, be thrown from or be dragged by the vehicle, is exposed to prolonged inclement weather, or poses a threat to public health and safety or to other animals. It is a city ordinance, so it applies in Anchorage, not statewide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to push a moose out of an airplane in Alaska?
No Alaska statute mentions moose and airplanes. Alaska law defines take to include in any manner disturbing game, and taking game except as the fish and game statutes or regulations permit is a class A misdemeanor under AS 16.05.920 and 16.05.925. The airplane story is that general rule retold as a specific one.
Is it illegal to wake a sleeping bear to take a picture in Alaska?
No Alaska statute mentions sleeping bears or photographs. The same general rule applies: take includes in any manner disturbing game, and taking game except as the law allows is a class A misdemeanor. AS 16.05.782, which some lists cite, is about taking brown or grizzly bears near landfills.
Is it illegal to be drunk in a bar in Alaska?
AS 04.16.040 says a drunken person may not knowingly enter or remain on premises licensed to sell alcohol. It is a violation, which is noncriminal. The licensee and staff have a separate duty under AS 04.16.030 not to let a drunken person in or serve one.
Is it illegal to whisper to a moose hunter in Alaska?
No state law was found in the Alaska code as of October 21, 2026 about whispering to a hunter. The nearest rule, AS 16.05.790, bars intentionally hindering lawful hunting by being where human presence alters game behavior or by creating a visual, aural or olfactory stimulus to alter the game.
What are some weird laws in Alaska?
The claims we checked involve moose pushed from airplanes, sleeping bears, whispering to moose hunters, being drunk in a bar and dogs on car roofs in Anchorage. Only the bar rule is a state law as stated; the wildlife stories trace to a general disturbance rule, and the Anchorage rule is about unsafe attachment.
Updates
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
Sources and References
- Alaska Stat. § 16.05.920, with § 16.05.925 (penalty) and § 16.05.940(35) (definition of take) (Alaska Legislature)(www.akleg.gov).gov
- Alaska Stat. § 16.05.790, Obstruction or hindrance of lawful hunting (Alaska Legislature)(www.akleg.gov).gov
- Alaska Stat. § 04.16.040, Prohibited access by drunken persons, and § 04.16.030 (Alaska Legislature)(www.akleg.gov).gov
- Anchorage Municipal Code 17.10.010, Animals in public places (official code host)(ecode360.com)
- State of Alaska v. Alisha Rosenbruch-Decker , State of Alaska v. Zachariah Brent Decker (2025)(courtlistener.com)
- SCHAREN v. State (2011)(courtlistener.com)