It shall be unlawful and constitute a misdemeanor for any person, organization, firm or corporation, including an officer, agent or employee of any town or municipality to:

(1) Maliciously break, break off, crack, carve upon, write, burn, damage, or otherwise mar or mark on, remove, or in any other manner destroy, disturb, deface, mar or harm the walls or any speleothem in any cave, except for recognized scientific purposes.

Terms Used In Alabama Code 9-19-3

  • cave: includes but is not limited to cavern, pit, pothole, well (natural), sinkhole, and/or grotto. See Alabama Code 9-19-1
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(2) Discard litter or refuse to any degree in any cave.
(3) Break, force, tamper with, remove, or otherwise disturb a lock, gate, door, or other structure or obstruction designed to control or prevent access to any cave, unless such act is specifically ordered by the owner.
(4) Offer for sale any speleothem or export from the State of Alabama speleothems for sale elsewhere.
(5) Remove, kill, harm or disturb any plant or animal life found within any wild cave, except for recognized scientific purposes.
(6) The provisions of subdivisions (1) through (6) of this section shall not apply to a recognized rescue unit operating in response to an emergency or believed emergency.
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