Au chapitre des défenses, les dispositions actuelles prévoient que nul ne sera reconnu coupable d’une infraction s’il « prouve qu’il a agi avec une justification ou une excuse légale et avec apparence de droit »(19). Les nouvelles dispositions prévoient que, dans certains cas, il y a infraction si la personne agit « sans excuse légitime »(20).
With respect to defences, the current provisions state that no person shall be convicted of an offence “where he proves that he acted with legal justification or excuse and with colour of right” (19) The new provisions, in certain cases, provide that it would be an offence if the person acted “without lawful excuse” (20) The colour of right defence(21) generally applies to property crimes; thus, its exclusion from the proposed provisions is not surprising because these crimes are instead to be viewed in future as crimes against animals.