Political theory has already concluded that our democracies lack political representation of anymals in many ways. However, their theoretical debate is not widely known. The absence or lack of anymal representation in formal collective decision-making is not adequately addressed in the anymal advocacy movement. Current forms of anymal representation in formal political spaces are highly dependent on the government, human interests, and human empathy towards anymals. How can we establish anymal representatives, representing anymals independently from human interests and the human perspective?

Discussions within political theory are often abstract and presuppose an ideal society already ruling out many exploitative practices that still exist in our society. Therefore, these theories often cannot be transferred to our reality easily. In theory, institutional proposals might be feasible; however, in reality, they are "radical" or "unthinkable". Nevertheless, political theory composes political visions of anymal representation and provides impulses that could be further developed within our anymal advocacy movement (or also within political parties). This presentation aims to initiate this process by providing practical tools, ideas, and first steps. I will provide a range of demands that organizations or political parties can adopt. Strengthening existing institutions (with examples from Germany) and creating spaces and projects for envisioning and developing new institutions for representing anymals will be the focus of this talk.

(Disclaimer: Anymal is not a typing error. It is a term from Lisa A. Kemmerer referring to any animal who does not happen to be the species that I am.)