The majority of citizens are in favour of outdoor access for farm animals. The INRAE PANORAMA project aims to promote the emergence of practices and breeding systems, particularly for pigs, that provide outdoor access to the animals and guarantee their welfare and health throughout their lives. In this study, we wanted to better understand citizens’ demands and to specify acceptable methods of outdoor access for farm animals in France. Thus, the opinions of 32 citizens were collected through semi-directive interviews. The themes addressed concerned the respondents' relationship with animals and their perceptions of livestock farming and outdoor access. The qualitative data were analysed by thematic analysis. Although the respondents were in favour of outdoor access for farm animals, their motivations differed, particularly depending on their perception of farm animals. For a public with little awareness of the subject, outdoor access is synonymous with pastures and freedom in vast fields. The presence of shelter and the ability for animals to choose whether to go inside or outside were frequently mentioned. Outdoor access would improve animal welfare and product quality but could generate risks related to the transmission of diseases by wildlife, predation, land availability, nuisances related to livestock farming and additional work for the farmer. These initial elements of analysis will be supplemented during co-construction workshops with a focus on pig farming, to be performed in late 2022 and then discussed with farmers.

The majority of citizens are in favour of outdoor access for farm animals. The INRAE PANORAMA project aims to promote the emergence of practices and breeding systems, particularly for pigs, that provide outdoor access to the animals and guarantee their welfare and health throughout their lives. In this study, we wanted to better understand citizens’ demands and to specify acceptable methods of outdoor access for farm animals in France. Thus, the opinions of 32 citizens were collected through semi-directive interviews. The themes addressed concerned the respondents' relationship with animals and their perceptions of livestock farming and outdoor access. The qualitative data were analysed by thematic analysis. Although the respondents were in favour of outdoor access for farm animals, their motivations differed, particularly depending on their perception of farm animals. For a public with little awareness of the subject, outdoor access is synonymous with pastures and freedom in vast fields. The presence of shelter and the ability for animals to choose whether to go inside or outside were frequently mentioned. Outdoor access would improve animal welfare and product quality but could generate risks related to the transmission of diseases by wildlife, predation, land availability, nuisances related to livestock farming and additional work for the farmer. These initial elements of analysis will be supplemented during co-construction workshops with a focus on pig farming, to be performed in late 2022 and then discussed with farmers.