Linke on the environment and animal welfare

The Left wants to support keepers of grazing animals with state-funded herd protection and fast compensation. Individual wolves may be killed under narrow conditions, but the party rejects fixed population caps or blanket shooting quotas.

The Left wants to protect sheep, goats and cattle on pastures better. The state should pay for this protection. If a wolf kills animals, owners should get money quickly. Single wolves may be killed only in certain cases. The Left does not want a fixed maximum number of wolves.

Herd protection is to have reliable funding and include training and low-bureaucracy grants. When animals are killed, keepers are to be compensated quickly and in full, alongside practical advice. Removal would be possible when a wolf has repeatedly killed livestock and every protective measure has failed. Wolf policy is to rest on scientific findings and assess the species' conservation status by transparent criteria. The platform calls the wolf's return a success for species protection and at the same time a challenge for pasture farming.

The Left wants to support beekeepers, angling clubs and allotment garden associations because, in the platform's view, they contribute to nature conservation and village life. Allotment gardens are to be preserved and not converted into building land.

The Left wants to help beekeepers. Fishing clubs should get help too. Small community gardens should stay. They should not be turned into building land.

Beekeepers are to receive grants for training, equipment, public outreach and recruiting newcomers, and the school beekeeping project is to continue. There would also be help against pests and invasive species such as the Asian hornet. Anglers are to be supported in maintaining waters, stocking and reintroducing native fish, with ecological development of waters taking priority over stocking alone. Allotment associations are to get help bringing vacant plots back into use.

The Left wants to speed up the conversion of Saxony-Anhalt's forests into mixed woodland that can better withstand drought, heat and pests. The platform points to the heavy damage of recent years, which it says hit monocultures hardest.

Heat and beetles have damaged many forests in the state. The Left wants forests with many kinds of trees. Mixed forests cope better with dry weather. The change should happen faster.

The shift to resilient mixed forests is to be accelerated. Forests should regenerate naturally where possible, supplemented by planting suited to each site. Douglas fir is to make up no more than 30 percent. Ecological minimum standards for reforestation are meant to prevent new monocultures. The platform treats forests as a public good that protects climate, water, soil and biodiversity while also serving recreation; wildlife rescue stations are to be supported as well.

The Left wants to give the public forestry administration more staff and better pay and to rule out selling state-owned forest. The platform argues that sustainable management requires reliable public structures.

The state has its own forestry service. The Left wants to hire more people there and pay them well. The state should not sell its forest. Small forest owners should get help.

The state forestry administration is to get more staff and good pay, since it is expected to handle reforestation, near-natural management and adaptation to climate change. State forest is not to be sold. Regional forestry businesses are to receive a right of first refusal. Owners of very small forest plots are to be supported in joining forestry associations. Areas for nature and process protection are to be designated as needed.

The Left wants wood used primarily as a building material and for durable products, with burning as the last option. Wind turbines in forests are to be allowed only on land of low ecological value, and protection against forest fires is to be improved.

Wood should first be used for building and furniture. Burning it should be the last choice. Wind turbines should only stand on bare forest land. Fire crews should be better equipped for forest fires.

The platform sets an order of priority: construction and durable goods first, then reuse, and burning for energy last, because wood used in buildings stores carbon for a long time. Timber is to be promoted as a material in public construction. Wind power in forests is to be allowed only where ecologically acceptable, such as on cleared areas. For fire protection, access routes, water supply points and fire service equipment are to be upgraded.

The Left wants to revise hunting law so that hunting follows ecological goals and animal welfare while remaining workable in practice. The platform sees hunting as a tool against crop damage, for forest conversion and against animal diseases.

The Left wants new rules for hunting. Hunting should help nature and cause little suffering. Wild boar should be hunted more. Hunters, farmers and conservation groups should work together.

Wild boar are to be hunted consistently and in a coordinated way, and hunts across district boundaries are to be made easier. Modern technology should be usable in practice. Hoofed game such as deer is to be managed so that young trees can grow back. Hunting registers are to be digitized uniformly with statewide software. Red tape is to be cut and cooperation among hunters, farmers, foresters and conservationists encouraged.

The Left wants permanent public funding for animal shelters and stronger state structures for animal welfare. According to the platform, associations and volunteers currently carry out tasks that should really be the state's responsibility.

Animal shelters take care of lost animals. The Left says this is the state's job. So the state should pay shelters on a lasting basis. There should also be programs for cats and pigeons.

Care for stray and confiscated animals is to be funded adequately and permanently, and the state budget is to include dedicated money for animal hoarding cases. The state animal welfare commissioner is to get a separate budget and be able to work independently. A central state register is to record bans on keeping or caring for animals so that moving house does not defeat them. Also planned are a statewide cat protection ordinance modeled on Paderborn, with a program for neutering and tagging, and a state program for supervised pigeon lofts.

The Left wants to give animal welfare organizations standing to sue so that violations of animal welfare law can be brought to court. It also calls for mandatory registration of pets, an end to breed-specific dog lists and a ban on animals in circuses.

Animals cannot go to court themselves. So animal welfare groups should be allowed to sue for them. All pets should be tagged and registered. Circuses should no longer be allowed to show animals.

Animal welfare organizations are to receive a collective right of action. The existing breed lists are to be scrapped because, in the party's view, they discriminate across the board and do not improve safety. A statewide tagging and registration requirement is to apply to all pets to prevent abandonment and repeat offenses. Enforcement of animal welfare law is to be strengthened. The Left wants to ban animals in circuses and live animals in nativity scenes at Christmas markets.

The Left wants to better resource nature conservation in the state, including through a state nature fund and stronger agencies. The platform counts intact nature as part of essential public services and does not want tasks shifted onto volunteers.

The Left wants to protect nature in the state better. Conservation offices should get more money and staff. A new fund should pay for conservation over the long term. Drained bogs should be made wet again.

Conservation agencies are to get more staff and funding. A state nature fund modeled on Brandenburg's is to finance measures over the long term, and Natura 2000 stations are to provide professional support for protected areas. The EU Nature Restoration Regulation is to be implemented consistently and habitat networks expanded. Peatlands are to be restored and paludiculture, meaning farming on rewetted peat soils, promoted. Nature parks and environmental education are to be expanded, and invasive species that threaten native habitats are to be combated.

The Left wants to turn Saxony-Anhalt into a leading location for recycling and raw material recovery. Waste management is to be run publicly as an essential service, and waste imports into the state are to stop. The program cites dependence on imported raw materials such as rare earths and the strain on climate and environment.

The Left wants more recycling in Saxony-Anhalt. Old materials should become raw materials again. Waste services should belong to the public. Waste from other regions should no longer come into the state. Repairs should become cheaper.

The program calls for an industrial and innovation strategy for circular production and for expanding the Anhalt and Merseburg university sites, with research on recovering rare earths. The state waste management plan is to set capacity limits, quality criteria and a proximity principle, backed by a Bundesrat initiative against cross-state waste shipments. Permit conditions for landfills and waste transports are to be tightened. Public construction is to use a mandatory minimum share of recycled building materials. A statewide repair bonus is meant to cut electronic waste, and another Bundesrat initiative would require the return of old devices containing rare earths.

The Left wants to meet the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive quickly and in full, with more state funding. Drinking water and wastewater are to remain a public task, and privatizing springs is ruled out. In conflicts over water use, drinking water and ecosystems are to take priority.

The Left wants to protect rivers, streams and lakes better. The state should spend more money on this. Drinking water should belong to the public. Companies should not be allowed to buy springs. When water is scarce, drinking water comes first.

Rivers and streams are to be made passable again so migratory fish such as salmon can travel through them. Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is to be cut through rules, buffer strips along waters and state inspections. A state program would stabilize village ponds and lakes ecologically and make them more attractive places to spend time. The party also plans a state subsidy program for municipal drinking fountains. The program points to dry spells, declining groundwater recharge and the poor condition of many water bodies.

The Left wants to tie large industrial projects to a sound water plan and charge large users more through the water extraction fee. Industry's growing demand is not to come at the expense of residents and the environment. The party rejects the planned diversion of Elbe water into the Spree.

Big factories need a lot of water. The Left wants them to present a water plan first. Those who take a lot of water should pay more. People should not be worse off because of this. Water from the Elbe river should not be sent to the Spree river.

The water plan is to cover local supply, reuse, storage and load management. The fee for extracting water is to rise with volume for large users and be set by sector for industrial and cooling water. In the party's view, the Elbe-Spree diversion carries ecological risks, lasting costs and dependence on long-distance water. For the water shortage the Spree faces after the coal phase-out, the program relies on regional answers such as restoring rivers, rewetting land, smaller residual mining pits and frugal use.

The Left wants to keep wastewater treatment in public hands and fund its modernization with state and federal money. The cost of stricter treatment standards under the new EU wastewater directive is to be borne, through a levy, by the producers of the polluting substances. This is meant to keep charges affordable for municipalities and households.

The Left wants sewage plants to stay public. The state and federal government should pay for new technology. Companies put harmful substances into the water. These companies should pay for the cleaning. That keeps costs low for people.

Funding for maintaining and upgrading plants is to be reliable and easy to access. According to the program, the new EU directive requires micropollutants to be removed effectively, and this burden should not fall on municipalities and residents alone. The party also wants to support methods that reuse treated wastewater, for example for groundwater recharge, firefighting ponds, hydrogen production or watering floodplain forests.