West Ham star Kurt Zouma ADMITS kicking and slapping his pet cat in shocking attack filmed on video
West Ham star Kurt Zouma ADMITS kicking and slapping his pet cat in shocking attack filmed on video by his brother
Kurt Zouma, 27, was pictured arriving at Thames Magistrates’ Court this morningThe West Ham United defender is being prosecuted under Animal Welfare ActZouma has admitted kicking and slapping his cat in video filmed by his brotherYoan Zouma also admitted a charge of aiding or abetting his brother’s offending
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Premier League footballer Kurt Zouma has admitted kicking and slapping his pet cat.
The West Ham United defender pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act when he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London on Tuesday morning.
Zouma, 27, was forced to apologise after harrowing footage was filmed and shared by his younger brother Yoan, 24, who also admitted one offence during the hearing.
West Ham defender Kurt Zouma (pictured) has been summonsed to appear before court in relation to a video which emerged in February of him allegedly kicking and slapping his cat
Hammers defender Zouma arrived at court in chaotic fashion, accompanied by several security guards who emerged from a vehicle holding umbrellas to form a protective shield around the defendant.
The brothers’ addresses have been withheld following a court order.
Yoan Zouma filmed the incident and admitted aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring Kurt Zouma to commit an offence.
Kurt Zouma admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on February 6 this year by kicking it in the abdomen and slapping it in the head.
Kurt Zouma was forced to apologise after a video of him kicking his cat went viral in February
The court was told about disturbing footage of the incident, filmed at Zouma’s home and posted on Snapchat by his brother on February 6.
It was later seen by a woman who had been messaging Yoan, who raised the alarm.
Zouma could be seen volleying the Bengal cat across his kitchen, before throwing a pair of shoes at it and slapping its head.
Prosecutor Hazel Stevens told the court Kurt Zouma could be heard saying: ‘I swear I’ll kill it, I swear I’ll kill it.’
He admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on February 6.
Yoan admitted one count of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring his older brother to commit an offence.
Two cats belonging to Zouma are still under the care of the the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
Yoan Zouma at court to appear over claims filming a cat being kicked by brother Kurt Zouma
West Ham fined their player £250,000 in relation to the incident and made donations to nine animal welfare charities in the UK and overseas.
In the aftermath of the incident in February, Zouma issued an apology which was issued to the media and read: ‘I want to apologise for my actions.
‘There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret.
‘I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video.
‘I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy.
‘They are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again.’
As well as his public apology, Zouma apologised to his team-mates at their training ground.
It is understood the £29.8million defender was sent on an animal awareness course by his club as part of his punishment.
West Ham boss David Moyes played Zouma a home win against Watford, just over 24 hours after the video showing the player kicking and slapping his pet cat had circulated on social media, sparking widespread condemnation.
West Ham confirmed they would continue to play Zouma despite the ferocious backlash to the footage of the Frenchman kicking and slapping his pet cat.
Moyes confirmed in the aftermath of the video going viral, he would not be dropping Zouma, adding he does not regret the decisions he made and insisting he knew ‘exactly where my moral compass is’.
Zouma remains under investigation by the RSPCA, while his club have fined him two weeks’ wages worth £250,000.
Moyes said at the time that he considered the fine, along with the verbal abuse he received from rival supporters at stadiums, sufficient punishment and asked for ‘forgiveness’ for his player.
