West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma pleads guilty to kicking his cat
West Ham defender Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty to kicking and punching his cat.
The France international pleaded guilty to two charges under the Animal Welfare Act when he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday morning.
Zouma, 27, was forced to apologize after his younger brother Yoan, 24, filmed and shared harrowing footage of him admitting to an offense during the hearing.
Hammers defense attorney Zouma arrived in court in a chaotic manner, accompanied by several security guards who climbed out of a vehicle carrying umbrellas to form a protective shield around the accused.
The court was told disturbing footage of the incident, filmed at Zouma’s home and posted by his brother on Snapchat on February 6.
It was later seen by a woman who had sent Yoan a message that set off the alarm.
Zouma was seen chasing the Bengal cat around his kitchen before throwing a pair of shoes at her and hitting her on the 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.”
After the incident, Zouma was fined £250,000 by his club and his two house cats were confiscated by the RSPCA.
Zoma continued to play for West Ham after the incident and throughout the RSPCA’s investigation.
The former Chelsea star also saw a lucrative sponsorship deal with Adidas ended.
His brother Yoan was temporarily suspended from Dagenham & Redbridge before being allowed to return to the squad in March.
“I don’t think the club could act more or faster. West Ham fined him at top wage,” West Ham manager David Moyes said of the club’s decision.
“We all accept that the actions are horrific and devilish, but we chose to play him and we stand by it.
“We’re so disappointed that it’s completely uncharacteristic of Kurt. He’s a really good boy, we will help him and try to give him as much help as possible.
“As with drunk driving offences, most people will need to take courses and the RSPCA will offer him courses to understand animals and how to treat them.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure Kurt deals with it, gets better and understands it.
“The incident is terrible, we all agree completely. There was nobody in this football club who didn’t agree with that. Having the sponsorship taken away is something the club needs to deal with, not me.
MORE: West Ham defender Kurt Zouma set to appear in court over video of cat abuse
MORE : Kurt Zouma’s brother faces charges by RSPCA for filming cat kicking video
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https://metro.co.uk/2022/05/24/west-ham-footballer-kurt-zouma-pleads-guilty-to-kicking-his-cat-16699293/ West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma pleads guilty to kicking his cat