What do the parties in Hesse say on the environment and animal welfare?

The AfD wants nitrate limits enforced only where drinking water is sourced. When limits are exceeded, the specific polluter should be identified instead of designating whole areas as Red Zones. The platform doubts that farm fertilizer is the cause of high nitrate levels.

Nitrate is a substance that can get into water. The AfD wants rules for it only where drinking water comes from. If a level is too high, officials should find who caused it. Whole areas should no longer get strict fertilizer rules.

The AfD wants to ban slaughter without stunning entirely, even when it is justified on religious or cultural grounds. It also rejects the import, trade, and advertising of such meat. Existing animal welfare rules are to be strictly enforced.

Some animals are killed without being stunned first. This happens for religious reasons, for example. The AfD wants to ban this in all cases. It also rejects such meat from abroad.

The AfD wants an official finding that the wolf population is secure and, on that basis, cull quotas and legally sound hunting. Losses from wolf attacks on livestock should be compensated faster and in full. Compensation schemes are to be developed for beaver damage.

The AfD wants hunters to be allowed to shoot wolves. There should be fixed numbers for this. If a wolf kills farm animals, the owner should get money quickly. There should also be money for damage from beavers.

The AfD wants no further areas of state forest taken out of use and wants the current management and conservation guidelines fundamentally revised. Hunting is to be preserved and promoted as a form of using nature.

The state's forest should stay in use. The AfD wants no more forest areas set aside. The rules for the state forest should change. Hunting should stay.

The CDU wants lasting funding for preserving, restructuring and rebuilding damaged forests under all types of ownership. Forest owners are to be paid for the carbon their forests store, for instance through a low-bureaucracy forest bonus.

Many forests in Hesse are sick. The CDU wants to save and rebuild them. There should be lasting money for this. Forest owners should also get money because their forest stores CO2.

The CDU rejects taking additional forest land out of management and wants no new requirements for forestry. In its view, sustainable forestry already protects biodiversity effectively, while set-asides harm climate protection and the wood supply.

Some forests are no longer used. Nobody cuts trees there. The CDU does not want more such areas. It says: The managed forest already protects animals and plants well. And people need the wood.

The CDU wants to use more wood from local forests and secure supplies for Hesse's sawmills and wood industry. Forest owners are to be relieved of some costs of keeping roads safe from tree hazards.

The CDU wants to use more wood from Hesse's forests. Sawmills should get enough wood. Forest owners must protect roads from falling trees. They should pay less for this.

The CDU affirms hunting as a cultural asset and wants to extend hunting seasons for several species, while the hunting law keeps its basic principles. Hunters and anglers are to get more self-responsibility and less red tape.

The CDU thinks hunting is important. Hunters should be allowed to hunt some animals for longer. They should be allowed to hunt wild boar all year. Hunters and anglers should manage many things themselves.

The CDU wants to include the wolf in Hesse's hunting law and actively manage its population as soon as federal law allows. It no longer regards the wolf as an endangered species in Germany and wants better protection for people and grazing animals.

Wolves live in Germany again. The CDU says: The wolf is no longer at risk. Hunters should be allowed to hunt wolves once federal law permits it. This way the CDU wants to protect people and grazing animals.

The CDU wants to secure affordable, clean drinking water even as the climate changes, expanding pipeline networks and water sourcing to do so. It rejects a general "Wassercent," a levy on water extraction.

Everyone in Hesse should have clean and affordable drinking water. The CDU wants to renew the water pipes. It does not want a new charge on water. Rivers and streams should become more natural again.

The CDU wants to keep supporting the mining company Kali+Salz as it becomes more environmentally compatible. Jobs and economic value are to be preserved until mining ends, while environmental standards are met.

Kali+Salz is a mining company in Hessen. The CDU wants to keep supporting it. The company should harm the environment less. The jobs should stay until mining ends.

The CDU wants to keep reducing nitrate and phosphorus in water bodies, but on a polluter-pays basis. The "red zones" with stricter fertilizer rules are to be drawn more precisely, based on additional measuring points.

Water should contain less nitrate and phosphorus. In "red zones" there are strict rules for fertilizer. The CDU wants to draw these zones more exactly. For that, there should be more measuring points. Farmers who protect water should get exceptions.

The CDU rejects blanket land set-asides of the kind it says are being considered at EU level. Conservation is instead to work through voluntary contracts with owners and land users, with contract-based conservation taking priority.

The CDU does not want to take land out of use across the board. It says the EU is discussing such ideas. Nature protection should be voluntary. The state signs contracts with farmers and owners for this. Insects should also get more places to live.

The CDU aims for material cycles that are as closed as possible and wants to advance the recyclables bin and the Dual System (Germany's packaging recycling scheme). At the same time, new landfill capacity is to be created and less food and plastic should end up as waste.

The CDU wants more waste to be recycled. For this, there should be a bin for recyclable materials. There should be more landfill space for construction waste. People should throw away less food and plastic.

The CDU wants to improve conditions at animal shelters with more money for the Stiftung Hessischer Tierschutz (Hessian animal welfare foundation) and a special program. For farm animals, it relies on the roundtable with farmers and associations, without rules that apply only in Hessen.

The CDU wants to help animal shelters. There will be more money for building work. Farm animals should be treated better. The CDU talks about this with farmers and associations. There should be fewer animal experiments.

The CDU rejects giving animal welfare organizations their own right to sue. It expects no gain for animal welfare from it, but more strain on courts and longer permitting procedures. Break-ins at livestock barns are to be punished as a crime.

Animal welfare groups should not be able to go to court themselves. The CDU says this does not help animals. It only makes procedures longer. People who break into a barn should be punished.

The FDP wants to secure native biodiversity, protect peatlands and make forests more resilient through forest conversion. It relies mainly on voluntary agreements with owners and land managers rather than on mandates.

The FDP wants to protect animals and plants in Hesse. Peatlands should be kept and made wet again. Forests should get new, suitable tree species. The FDP relies on voluntary contracts with owners.

The FDP wants to counter the decline of insects with more research and measures derived from it. Hedges, flowering strips and green strips are to be developed further, and owners are to be compensated for restrictions on land use.

There are fewer and fewer insects. The FDP wants more research on this. There should be more hedges and flowering strips. People who can use their land less because of this should get money in return.

The FDP wants Hessian animal shelters to be reliably funded and fully reimbursed when they carry out municipal duties. In return, uniform standards would apply and be checked regularly.

Animal shelters take care of lost animals. That is really a job for towns. The FDP wants shelters to get enough money for it. All shelters should follow the same rules. The veterinary office should check them every year.

The FDP wants a statewide water strategy that balances conflicts over groundwater between the Rhine-Main area and rural regions. It rejects a charge on water extraction and wants investment in supply networks and wastewater treatment.

The FDP wants a plan for water in Hesse. Cities and rural areas argue over groundwater. The plan should settle this. The FDP does not want a new fee for taking water. Pipes and treatment plants should be renewed.

The FDP wants to fund measures against excessive artificial light at night, especially in municipal lighting. It cites effects on health and heavy losses among insects.

Too much light at night harms people and animals. Many insects die at lamps. The FDP wants to give money so towns can change their lamps. Owners of homes and businesses should get advice. Businesses may keep the light they need.

The FDP wants to secure forestry use of Hesse's forests and rejects set-asides and blanket bans on use. The moratorium on felling beech is to be lifted, and FSC certification of state forests would no longer be mandatory.

The FDP wants forests to stay in use. It is against leaving one tenth of the state forest untouched. Old beech trees should be allowed to be cut again. The state forest company should decide on eco-labels itself. More buildings should be made of wood.

The FDP wants to keep hunting law tied to land ownership and commits to the Revierjagdsystem (hunting district system). It rejects additional bureaucratic hurdles for hunters.

The FDP wants to keep hunting law as it is. Hunters should be able to act on their own responsibility. The FDP is against new hurdles for hunting. Red deer should be able to move across larger areas. Green bridges over roads should help with that.

The FDP wants to actively manage the wolf population in Hesse once federal law allows it, arguing that uncontrolled growth is incompatible with pasture farming. Where beavers and rooks cause damage, removal or shooting and compensation payments should also become possible.

The FDP wants to limit the number of wolves in Hesse. First the federal government must allow this. Wolves should be counted better. Beavers and rooks also cause damage. Farmers and fish breeders should get money for that. Where damage is high, animals may be removed.

The FDP wants fishing that preserves stocks and sees club angling as practical conservation that deserves state support. Hydropower plants should not block the spawning migration of fish.

The FDP wants to support fishing. Angling clubs look after rivers and lakes and so protect nature. Hydropower plants should not stop fish from migrating. If they harm fish, they should be rebuilt. New plants are only allowed if fish can still migrate.

The FDP wants to promote reuse of building materials and, together with municipalities, create new landfill capacity for construction waste. In the platform's view, missing landfill space and complicated rules for excavated soil drive up building costs.

Building creates a lot of rubble and soil. There are too few landfills for it. That makes building more expensive. The FDP wants to reuse more building materials. It wants to create new landfills together with towns.

The FDP wants to make greater use of local building materials such as sand and gravel, including in Bannwald (specially protected forest). The stricter Bannwald protection passed by the CDU-Green government is to be reversed. The platform justifies this with construction costs and security of supply.

The FDP wants more sand and gravel to be dug in Hesse. This should also be possible in Bannwald. Bannwald is forest with very strict protection. The stricter rules of the last government should go. The FDP says this keeps building from getting more expensive.

The Greens want to invest €1 billion in protecting biodiversity by 2030. They also plan a reforestation and forest development program that the platform calls the largest in the state's history. Groundwater reserves are to be secured as well.

The Greens want to protect nature in Hesse. By 2030, one billion euros should go to animals and plants. Many new trees should be planted. Groundwater should be protected too.

The Greens want to reverse the decline of endangered animal and plant species and reach the global goal of 30 percent protected areas. A total of 1 billion euros is to be invested for this by 2030.

Many animals and plants are at risk. The Greens want more protected areas. They want to spend 1 billion euros on this by 2030. A small part of the state should become wilderness.

The Greens want to rely on prevention and help with damage in conflicts over returning species such as wolves, beavers or otters. In individual cases, wolves showing problem behavior may be killed.

Wolves, beavers and otters live in Hesse again. This sometimes causes conflict. The Greens want to help people who suffer damage. They also want to help prevent damage. Problem wolves may be shot in single cases.

The Greens want to further cut the use of pesticides in order to improve insect diversity. Protected areas and waters are to be shielded by buffer strips.

Pesticides are poisons against pests. They also harm many insects. The Greens want fewer pesticides. There should be poison-free strips next to protected areas and waters.

The Greens want to launch a large forest development program and align Hesse's forest law with nature conservation, climate protection and recreation. In case of conflict, protection goals are to take priority over use.

Many forests in Hesse are dying. The Greens want a big program for forests. Protecting nature and climate should matter more than using the forest. More forest should be left alone.

The Greens want to introduce a Wassercent, a levy on water extraction, to pay for sustainable water projects. Groundwater extraction is to be licensed and monitored more strictly.

The climate crisis makes water scarcer. The Greens want a new charge on water. It is called the Wassercent. The money pays for water projects. Groundwater should be better protected.

The Greens want the potash industry to end its discharges by 2027 at the latest and to cover its waste heaps completely. In permits for mining, clean drinking water is to take priority.

Potash mining pollutes rivers and groundwater. From 2027, no more wastewater should be discharged. The waste heaps should be covered. Leftover material should go back underground. Drinking water matters more than mining.

The Greens want to limit daily land consumption in Hesse to no more than one hectare by 2030. In the long run, there should be no net loss of open land at all.

A lot of land in Hesse gets built on. The Greens want to limit this strongly. From 2030 it should be one hectare a day at most. Later, no extra land should be lost at all.

The Greens want to close material loops and turn the state waste management plan into a zero-waste strategy. This includes more recycling, less food waste, and statewide monitoring of raw materials.

The Greens want less waste. Materials should be used again and again. Building materials should be reused too. Less food should end up in the trash.

The Greens want to give animal welfare organizations in Hesse standing to sue, as already exists in environmental law. They also support a ban on wild animals in circuses and want to curb private keeping of wild animals and breeding that causes suffering.

Animal welfare groups should be able to go to court for animals. Wild animals should no longer perform in circuses. Fewer people should keep wild animals at home. The Greens also want fewer animal tests.

The Greens call for higher animal welfare standards in farming and for tying livestock numbers to available land. Long transports of live animals are to become largely unnecessary, and transports to countries outside the EU are to be banned.

Farm animals should have better lives. A farm should only keep as many animals as its land allows. Long trips with live animals should mostly end. Transports to countries outside the EU should be banned.

The Greens want a new hunting law that gives more weight to animal welfare, climate, and the environment. Endangered species would no longer be hunted, and culling plans for roe deer would be dropped.

The Greens want a new law for hunting. It should protect animals, the climate, and nature better. Nobody should hunt endangered animals anymore. Fixed shooting plans for roe deer should end.

The SPD wants wolf management that adequately funds the protection of grazing animals and sets clear compensation rules. It justifies this with the importance of grazing for biodiversity and habitats. Wildlife rescue stations would also be set up, and animal shelters would receive basic funding.

Wolves can kill grazing animals. The SPD wants to pay for protecting pastures. There should be clear rules for paying for damage. Hurt wild animals should get help at rescue stations. Animal shelters should get steady funding.

The SPD wants a mixed, species-rich continuous-cover forest that can better adapt to the changing climate. Forests would be managed gently, with ten percent left unused. HessenForst, the state forestry enterprise, would get more staff for this.

The SPD wants to use the forest gently. Many different trees should grow there. Then the forest copes better with the new climate. One tenth of the forest should stay unused. The state forestry service should get more staff.

The SPD wants to reduce water consumption and charge a levy on use above the average household level. Water bodies should reach good condition statewide. A program would expand flood protection in light of more frequent heavy rain.

The SPD wants people to use less water. People who use a lot of water would pay a levy. Rivers and streams should get cleaner. Flood protection should get better. Cities should store rainwater better.

The SPD wants to create a network of habitats on 15 percent of Hesse's land so that migrating species can find new living space. The administrations for nature conservation, agriculture and forestry would work together more closely and be better equipped.

The SPD wants to connect living spaces for animals and plants. This would cover 15 percent of the land in Hesse. Then animals can move around. The offices for nature, farming and forests should work together better. They should have enough staff.