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The farmers at Universal Ostrich Farms can breathe a little easier, at least for a few days, as they have been granted an interim order to pause the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) open cull order against their healthy flock.

This gives the farm approximately 72 hours to prepare and expedite their submissions for an emergency stay order to spare the animals while they pursue a request to have their case heard in the Supreme Court of Canada.

“There is a part in the interim order that the CFIA can continue with planning for the full cull and organizing the task force,” said farm spokesperson Katie Pasitney. “Once the courts have the materials of why we need a stay, if the courts decide that we don’t get that emergency stay order, then the CFIA can move in."

“We do still have that avenue of applying to Supreme Court. That is our right. But Supreme Court only accepts about 6% of cases a year,” said Pasitney, “Where we have hope is that this is of international interest, so that is a way more likely opportunity for us.”

This short reprieve comes after a long and exhausting fight. The ostriches at Universal have now been healthy and symptom-free for 235 days, a living contradiction to the CFIA’s claim that the entire flock must be culled due to an avian flu outbreak late last year.

After the CFIA issued the kill order in December, the farm’s two previous legal attempts to block the cull were dismissed by the Federal Court, with one judicial review and an appeal both falling through.

But hope hasn’t died just yet.

The farm's position has been shared by scientists and a slew of Canadian politicians. Even top U.S. health officials have offered to partner with Canada to save the flock and further the viral therapeutics research it was used for prior to being quarantined.

“We’re going to take this to the finish line. We’ve been so blessed to have all of the support and everything around us,” Pasitney said. “We have to create change as Canadians. There’s no violence, there’s no hate. When Canadians come together, our voices matter. This is about our agriculture sector as a whole, and we have the opportunity here to create change, really big change, that will have a ripple effect on your children, our children, their children, and protect our agricultural sector and all the farmers that have dedicated their lives to providing nutritional food for all of us.”

As the family and their legal team, led by crowdfunded lawyer Umar Sheikh, prepare the next steps, the farmers are continuing to call on the public for support. They are asking Canadians to write letters and emails to the CFIA, and to even camp out at their farm to urge the agency to back down and retest the birds to prove they are no threat.

I’ve just returned from the farm to spend some time with my own family during this reprieve, but will continue to bring you the news as it comes regarding this important story.