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

The AfD wants to cap transports of animals for slaughter within Germany at five hours of travel plus two hours of loading time. Animals should always be taken to the nearest slaughterhouse. Inspections and penalties are to be tightened.

The AfD wants shorter trips for animals going to slaughter. A trip should take five hours at most. Two more hours are allowed for loading. Animals should go to the nearest slaughterhouse. There should be more checks.

The AfD wants to keep the ban on slaughter without stunning and to grant no exemptions in Saxony, including for religious reasons. At the same time, regional meat production and mobile slaughter are to be made easier.

Some animals are killed without being stunned first. The AfD wants to never allow this in Saxony. This should also apply to religious reasons. The AfD also wants to make local slaughter easier.

The AfD wants to give Saxony's animal shelters more money. It plans a wage subsidy as well as more funds for feed and veterinary care.

The AfD wants to give animal shelters in Saxony more money. The state should pay part of the wages. There should be more money for food and vets.

The AfD wants to achieve nature conservation through near-natural use of cultivated landscapes and by leaving some sites unused. Farms and forestry businesses are to be paid long term for conservation services, with funding that is simple and results-based.

The AfD wants to protect nature together with farmers and foresters. Businesses should get money for protecting nature. Getting the money should be easy. More animals should graze on pastures again.

The AfD considers the wolf no longer threatened with extinction in Saxony and wants to end its strict protection under EU law. The population is to be regulated through culling plans to protect grazing animals, pets and people in rural areas.

The AfD says there are enough wolves in Saxony. The wolf should no longer be strictly protected. Hunters should be allowed to shoot wolves under a plan. Animal owners should get money when a wolf kills their animals.

The AfD wants to draw up a flood protection plan for large and small waterways, focusing on building or renovating retention basins and dikes. More rainwater is to seep into the ground on site to secure groundwater and prevent floods.

The AfD wants to protect Saxony better against floods. It wants to repair dikes and build retention basins. More rainwater should seep into the ground. Towns should get more money for their streams and rivers.

The CDU wants to keep supporting animal shelters and welfare groups and to regulate the trade in animals, especially puppies, more strictly. It points to a rise in problematic, dangerous or sick animals. Pet owners are to bear more responsibility and have the necessary knowledge.

The CDU wants to keep helping animal shelters. The trade in animals should get stricter rules, especially for puppies. More dogs and cats should have a chip. Pet owners should know how to care for their animals.

The CDU wants wolves to be hunted on a regular basis and to open up to one third of the population to hunting each year. Culling is to be allowed at a lower damage threshold and more quickly after an attack on livestock. The protected status of beavers, cormorants and otters is also to be reviewed.

The CDU wants hunters to be allowed to shoot wolves. Each year this could apply to up to one third of the wolves. After a farm animal is killed, shooting should be allowed faster. Animal owners keep getting money for damage and protection. The CDU also wants to review protection for beavers, cormorants and otters.

The CDU wants local communities and counties to decide on protected areas, which should have concrete conservation goals. It rejects taking land in the cultivated landscape out of use except within research programs. The ordinance for the Saxon Switzerland National Park is to be revised.

The CDU wants nature protection to be decided more locally. Towns and counties should decide on protected areas. Land that is in use should not simply be left idle. The rules for the Saxon Switzerland National Park should be rewritten. The towns there should be able to develop.

The CDU wants a statewide drinking water supply at stable prices. Villages that still depend on private wells are to be connected to the public network in the next legislative term. Wastewater treatment is also to be developed and funded in a planned way.

Some villages in Saxony only have their own wells. The CDU wants to connect them to the public water network. This should happen in the next five years. The funding should be affordable for everyone. Sewer lines should also be built again.

The CDU wants to continue funding regional and local flood protection and update the related plans. Measures should fit the cultivated landscape. The state forestry administration is to be responsible for flood protection on the land it manages.

The CDU wants to protect towns better against floods. The state keeps paying for this. The plans for it get updated. The protection should fit the landscape. The state forestry office must provide protection on its own land.

The CDU wants to stop further bureaucratization of environmental administration. State law should not narrow the leeway left by EU and federal law. For vehicles, climate-neutral fuels are to be treated on equal terms with electric drives.

The CDU wants less paperwork in environmental matters. Saxony should not make EU and federal rules even stricter. Local offices should be able to decide for themselves. For cars, not only electric motors count. Climate-neutral fuels should be treated the same.

The Free Voters assume that Saxony cannot stop climate change and therefore focus mainly on adaptation. This includes more greenery in cities, protection against heavy rain and flooding, and water management that makes greater use of rainwater.

The Free Voters say Saxony cannot stop climate change. So the state should adapt to the new conditions. Cities should become greener. There should be more protection from floods and heavy rain. Rainwater should be put to better use.

The Greens want to keep the rule that forest cleared for wind turbines is replaced by new forest elsewhere. The party rejects payments that would allow developers to avoid reforestation.

Sometimes wind turbines stand in a forest. Trees have to go for that. The Greens want new forest to grow somewhere else. Nobody should be able to pay money instead.

The Greens want to gear urban and village planning to heat, drought and heavy rain. Rainwater is to seep away and be stored on site, and more trees, greened buildings and unsealed surfaces are to provide cooling.

There is more heat, drought and heavy rain. The Greens want to prepare towns and villages for this. Rainwater should stay in the ground and not just run off. There should be more trees and plants on buildings. Hot places like schoolyards and parking lots should get shade and open ground.

The Greens want to slow species loss and factor species protection into every form of land use. Protected areas are to be preserved, improved and better linked, and the Saxon Switzerland National Park is to remain.

Many kinds of animals and plants are disappearing. The Greens want to slow this down. Protecting species should be considered everywhere, including farming, forests and towns. Protected areas should stay and get better. The Saxon Switzerland National Park should be kept.

The Greens want to keep restoring damaged nature, guided by EU targets. The rewetting of Saxony's peatlands is to be secured for the long term because, in the program's view, it serves the climate and biodiversity. The network of conservation stations and the funding of nature conservation are also to be strengthened.

The Greens want to repair damaged nature. Peatlands should become wet again. This helps the climate and many animal species. Conservation stations should get reliable funding.

The Greens want more nature in cities because, in the program's view, cities are especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Alongside green spaces and trees, small dense urban forests are to be created, including ones with edible plants.

The Greens want more nature in cities. There should be small, dense forests. They cool the city and clean the air. Animals find a home there.

The Greens want to reverse the loss of forest area and create more forest. Anyone converting forest to another use is to be required to plant new forest elsewhere; the party rejects paying money instead. Wood is to be used mainly for long-lasting purposes and burned less.

The Greens want more forest in Saxony. Anyone who removes forest should plant new forest elsewhere. Paying money instead should not be allowed. Wood should be used for building rather than burning.

The Greens want to draw up a comprehensive water strategy for Saxony. Priority is to go to a secure drinking water supply, wastewater disposal and the protection of water bodies. Water use is to fall, and soils in town and country are to store more water.

The Greens want a plan for water in Saxony. Drinking water should stay safe and good. Everyone should use less water. The ground should be able to soak up rain better.

The Greens want to restore rivers and streams to a natural state and, in flood protection, move dikes back first rather than build new ones or raise them. The EU Water Framework Directive is to be implemented quickly because, in the program's view, money is better spent on clean water than on penalties. The Elbe is to be developed in a near-natural way.

The Greens want to give rivers more room. Dikes should stand farther away from the river. Streams should flow naturally again. This protects nature and helps during floods.

The Greens want reliable funding for animal shelters so that they do not have to turn animals away despite rising numbers and falling donations. Veterinary offices are to get more staff to inspect and penalize violations in keeping, breeding and transport.

Animal shelters have too little money. The Greens want to give them secure funding. Offices should get more staff. They should check whether people treat animals well.

The Greens regard veterinary care as a task of the state and want to secure it everywhere in Saxony, including in emergencies. To do so, models from human health care are to be transferred to veterinary medicine.

There should be vets everywhere in Saxony. This also applies to emergencies. The Greens see this as a job for the state. There should be central emergency phone numbers.

The Greens want the state of Saxony to stop funding animal experiments with public money. Animal testing should no longer be used in education and training. A cash prize is meant to encourage the development of animal-free research methods.

The Greens want fewer animal tests. Saxony should stop paying for them. Students should learn without animal tests. A prize should reward research that works without animals.

The Greens want to create a right of collective legal action for associations in Saxony. Associations could then go to court over legal violations that affect the general public. This is meant to give animal welfare interests better representation, much as in environmental and nature protection.

Animals cannot go to court themselves. The Greens want animal welfare groups to be allowed to sue for them. Many other German states already allow this. Saxony should allow it too.

The Greens want to revise Saxony's hunting law so that animal and species protection take priority. Holders of hunting licenses should be required to undergo further training. Every county should have a rescue station for wild animals.

The Greens want to change the hunting law in Saxony. Protecting animals should matter more. Hunters should have to take regular training. Every county should get a station for injured wild animals.

The Greens want to strongly promote the circular economy in response to expected raw material shortages. Existing clusters are to grow, and new products are to be supported until they reach the market. The state procurement law is to give special weight to circular business models.

The Greens want materials to be used again and again. This is called a circular economy. Companies and researchers should work together more closely. The state should prefer such companies when it awards contracts.

The Greens want to keep Saxony's repair bonus permanently and support initiatives that put the right to repair into practice. Repair cafés, repair initiatives, and repair buses are to receive start-up funding as needed. According to the platform, this saves resources and saves consumers money.

The Greens want to keep the repair bonus. It gives people money when they get broken devices repaired. Repair cafés should get money to get started. When buying a product, people should see how easy it is to repair.

The Greens want to sharply reduce municipal waste through a statewide zero-waste strategy and avoid conventional waste as a matter of principle. Municipalities are to get support for their own strategies. The party also backs setting up a hazardous waste company.

The Greens want much less trash in Saxony. There should be a plan for the whole state. Cities and towns should get help with their own plans. There should be more deposit and take-back systems.

The Greens want to cut land consumption and reach the point by 2030 where, on balance, no new land is sealed. Land that is already sealed is to be used before new land. Commercial sites are to be awarded only by lease and based on the best concept.

The Greens want less land to be built over. By 2030, no new land should be sealed on balance. Old industrial sites should be used first. Commercial land should only be leased. The best concept should get the land.

The Left supports raw material extraction in Saxony if it is compatible with nature and local communities. Mining law would be changed so that the environment and residents carry more weight than business interests and municipalities get a say and a share of profits.

Raw materials are dug out of the ground in Saxony. The Left supports this, but with stricter rules. Nature and people should count more than company profits. Towns should help decide and get a share of the profit.

The Left wants to expand the recovery of raw materials from waste to reduce import dependence and to benefit the climate and energy efficiency. Public contracts and subsidies would be tied more closely to recycled material, alongside a larger repair bonus and more reusable packaging.

New raw materials can be made from waste. The Left wants to support this more. The state itself should buy more recycled material. People who get things repaired should receive a bigger subsidy. There should be more reusable packaging.

The Left wants to overhaul livestock farming: state funding for humane housing systems would cover all animal species and types of husbandry. Live animal transport would be restricted, inspections stepped up and decentralized slaughter made possible. Farmers and consumers should not bear the costs alone.

Many animals live in cramped barns. The Left wants to change that. The state should fund good barns for all kinds of animals. Animals should be moved alive less often. There should be more checks. Farmers and shoppers should not pay for this alone.

The Left wants to reintegrate the state enterprise Sachsenforst into the state administration as a directly run agency. Forests should be converted quickly into near-natural mixed woodland. The party calls for more staff and the agency's own machinery.

Sachsenforst looks after the state's forests. The Left wants to put it back directly under the state administration. There should be more forest workers. The forest should have many kinds of trees. That way it should cope better with heat and drought.

The Left wants to raise the share of wilderness areas in Saxony from 0.7 to 2.0 percent of the state's territory. The environmental administration, environmental groups and conservation associations are to be strengthened. The party points to the poor condition of many protected species and habitats.

Many animal and plant species in Saxony are doing badly. The Left wants more wilderness. There, nature can develop freely. Conservation groups should get more money. Towns and villages should get more green spaces too.

The Left wants a state program for sustainable structures in allotment gardening. Allotment gardeners and their associations should not have to pay municipal charges and contributions. The party points to the gardens' social, ecological and urban planning value.

Saxony has many allotment garden clubs. The Left wants a state program to support them. The clubs should pay no charges to the town. In rural areas many gardens stand empty. There should be money for that too.

The Left wants to give priority to the population's drinking water supply, especially with large industrial projects and in crises. Wastewater disposal should stay public and become more decentralized. Sewage plants would get a fourth treatment stage, with industry sharing the costs.

Everyone needs clean drinking water. The Left says this matters more than water for big factories. Towns should keep handling wastewater, not private firms. Sewage plants should clean the water better. Industry should help pay for that.

The Left wants considerably more state money for animal welfare and a funding guarantee for animal shelters. In its view, volunteer associations carry out public duties without enough support. Emergency veterinary care is also to be improved.

The Left wants to spend more money on animal welfare. Animal shelters should be sure to get funding. The state should repay towns the costs for stray animals. There should be more vets. There should be an emergency phone number for vets.

The Left wants to ban wild animals in circuses and fur production and to cut animal testing considerably. Animal welfare organizations would get the right to sue on behalf of animals. The list of restricted dog breeds would be dropped, and municipalities could order mandatory neutering of cats.

The Left wants to ban wild animals in circuses. Fur should no longer be produced. There should be far fewer animal tests. Animal welfare groups should be allowed to sue in court. The list of dangerous dog breeds should go.

The SPD wants to keep Saxony's wolf management and maintain a balance between species protection and herd protection. Public information, compensation and protective measures for herds are to remain funded.

The SPD wants to keep Saxony's way of dealing with wolves. Wolves should stay protected, but so should herds of farm animals. Animal owners should still get money for damage. The state should also keep paying for herd protection.

The SPD wants decisions by the state parliament, government and administration to be checked for sustainability. The sustainability report is to become a real balance sheet with measurable goals, and life-cycle assessments are to play a role in public investment as well.

The SPD wants to check political decisions for sustainability. That means looking at the effects on the future. Saxony should get measurable sustainability goals. A report should later show whether the goals were met.

The SPD wants to make sustainable products cheaper through taxation and to make the Reparaturbonus (repair subsidy) permanent. The circular economy and consumer education are to be strengthened; the party explicitly wants to do without bans.

The SPD wants sustainable products to cost less. Taxes should change to make that happen. People who get things repaired should keep getting money from the state. The SPD does not want bans here. Big corporations should pay a minimum tax worldwide.

The SPD wants to build closed material loops in Saxony, from raw material to reuse. The platform sees the reuse of resources as a key to climate neutrality. Public buildings are to be built with as much recycled material as possible.

The SPD wants raw materials to be used more than once. Old products should become new ones. This is called a circular economy. The state should use a lot of recycled material when it builds. Groups that repair and swap things should also get money.

The SPD wants a climate adaptation strategy covering all areas and more money for municipalities to prepare for heat, drought and extreme weather. Water supply is to be secured as groundwater becomes scarcer. The party continues to reject expanding the Elbe river for shipping.

The weather is getting more extreme. The SPD wants to prepare towns and villages for it. There should be more money for this. Water should stay clean and be enough for everyone. The Elbe river should not be expanded for ships.

The SPD wants to cut land consumption: by 2030, fewer than three hectares a day are to be newly sealed, and in the long run none on a net basis. This comes with measures for biodiversity, climate-resilient mixed forests and the rewetting of peatlands.

A lot of land in Saxony gets built over. The SPD wants to slow this down. By 2030 it should be less than three hectares a day. Later no more land should be added at all. The SPD also wants to protect forests, peatlands and rare animals and plants.

The SPD wants measurable improvements for animals. It wants to strengthen animal shelters and veterinary offices, secure veterinary care, and fund alternatives to animal testing so that research can soon do without such tests.

The SPD wants animals to be better off. Animal shelters should get help. The offices for animal health should get stronger. Research should soon work without animal testing.