# Question about Alaskan law **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 11, 2026, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983 "2026-05-11T04:38:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/21 "2026-05-11T19:26:58Z")
The same way you get it on a plane? ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/22 "2026-05-11T19:34:42Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I know nothing about bush planes, or their size. Bush planes tend to be small & slow. They have big, balloon tires to all them to land & takeoff from short, unimproved (unpaved) airstrips. _Nobody_ wants to do the work to cut & then maintain a traditional airport-length runway & many of the places they fly don’t even have the room if someone wanted to do it. Consequently, they can’t carry a lot of cargo. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/23 "2026-05-11T19:39:26Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > Did you force the moose inside the aircraft, or did it force itself inside? I honestly don’t think you can force a moose to do anything, so I’m thinking you left the cargo bay open and platform down at the rear of the plane, and he sauntered in to do some exploring. I’m thinking that, upon your return, you closed the cargo bay without really looking, entered the plane through a passenger entrance, and unknowingly took off with a moose on board. I’m thinking that process alarmed the moose, and the noise he made alerted you to his presence. Now what? Gently land the plane. When the moose settles down and is relatively calm, exit the plane, press the lever that opens the cargo bay, and run like hell. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/24 "2026-05-11T20:41:15Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > How’d they get the moose on the boat? They used their moosles. Duh. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/25 "2026-05-11T20:46:04Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > They used their moosles. Duh. _Clam_ up, will ya! ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/26 "2026-05-11T21:27:10Z")
This is all because of The Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival. [Finding More Than Moose Droppings in Talkeetna - The Abbey](https://theabbey.us/finding-more-than-moose-droppings-in-talkeetna/) > “The time PETA called Ace to demand he stop the Moose Drop for humane reasons. He spoke to them at length but never explained it was moose droppings, not a moose that was dropped” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/27 "2026-05-11T22:40:40Z")
Talkeetna is a pretty quirky place. The population runs the gamut from end-of-the-roaders to the best glacier pilots in the world. And those in the know call them moose “nuggets”. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/28 "2026-05-12T00:32:38Z")
> [@abcdefghij](#): > > How’d they get the moose on the boat? They can’t, it’s illegal in Alaska! ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/29 "2026-05-12T02:07:52Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > pushing a moose out of a plane Just how would a person do that? Moose’s are large (1/2 to 3/4 ton), undomesticated and generally bad-tempered. You don’t want to get behind them to push – those hind legs can deliver a tremendous kick. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/30 "2026-05-12T02:11:23Z")
You don’t push a moose out of a plane. You toss a bunch of carrots out of the plane and yell “Fetch!”. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/31 "2026-05-12T02:13:51Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I’ve always understood these “in xyz, it is illegal to do this or that funny thing” stories as either made up, or based on common law rather than statute. In other words, it might be that at some point, an Alaskan court, in a case before it where it mattered, ruled that someone violated a duty of care by pushing a moose out of a plane. Under state decisis, you could argue that this principle has thus become part of Alaskan common law, even though no legislature ever bothered adopting a statute about it. The United States does not have any criminal common law. If something is illegal, it must be codified by statute. When you speak of duty of care, it is a reference to civil liability. And I can easily imagine that Alaskan law has developed quite a bit about the foreseeability of an errant moose. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/32 "2026-05-12T05:25:18Z")
A moose once bit my sister. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/33 "2026-05-12T05:41:56Z")
A C130 could operate in Alaska and could easily carry a moose and drop one out the back door. The carrying capacity of bush planes is irrelevant. Nothing in the OP’s question said the moose had to be conscious. Only alive. So the aggressive behaviour of conscious moose is irrelevant. You can load an unconscious moose into a C130 with a sling and a forklift. It’s easy to get an unconscious moose out of the hold of a C130 - you attach a parachute to it and throw the drogue out the cargo door same as they do for other air drops. I’m not seeing any practical reason why this law isn’t necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/34 "2026-05-12T06:23:02Z")
But seriously, this has got to be from the tall tale that they love in Talkeetna. > [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > This is all because of The Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival. The group that was objecting to the Moose Dropping Festival varies with the telling, if not PETA, then the Humane Society. Or some irate citizen from the Lower 48 (usually from the East Coast, or maybe California) demanding to know what height the moose would be dropped from. In any case, moose bites can be pretty nasty ! ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/35 "2026-05-12T06:58:14Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > The United States does not have any criminal common law. If something is illegal, it must be codified by statute. I don’t think this is true in all states; to my knowledge, there are still common law offences in some states. (In England, no new common law offences can be created, but some existing ones are still around; notably, murder is a common law offence not codified in any statute). But even if it’s true that there are no remaining common law offences in any state in the US, I could well imagine some (imprecise) commentators saying “in x, it is illegal to do this-or-that” to mean “in x, courts have held that doing this-or-that violates a duty of care for the purposes of the tort of negligence”. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/36 "2026-05-12T07:41:25Z")
Aren’t C130s owned by military, mostly? Might be a problem with scheduling your drop off. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/37 "2026-05-12T08:03:14Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > mostly Mostly schmostly. You can get one for private charter. The risk is _real_ I tell you. This law is the only way we can be sure moose are not going to be abused in this way in Alaska. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/38 "2026-05-12T12:51:23Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > This law is the only way we can be sure moose are not going to be abused in this way in Alaska. Over 800 moose are killed on the highways in Alaska every year. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/39 "2026-05-12T13:11:41Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Over 800 moose are killed on the highways in Alaska every year Look, it’s too ambitious to try to ban all moose abuse in Alaska all at once, you’ll get too much push back. Let’s ban this one thing, and then build on it next year. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2026, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983/40 "2026-05-12T14:00:55Z")
I’m sure even more moose would be forced to stand on highways getting killed if it wasn’t for them knowing they can safely be on planes, from which it is illegal to push them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-alaskan-law/1029983.md?page=3)