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Kurt Zouma ordered to carry out 180 hours of community service for kicking cat
JUST IN: He has also been banned from keeping cats for five years
Kurt Zouma has been sentenced to 180 hours of community service after pleading guilty to kicking his cat.
The West Ham footballer, twenty-seven, has also been banned from keeping cats for five years.
Zouma was charged with three offences under the Animal Welfare Act after viral video footage showed him kicking and slapping one of his pet cats.
He was accused of two counts of causing ‘unnecessary suffering’ to the cat by kicking it in the abdomen and slapping it in the head, and was also charged with failing to protect the cat from ‘pain suffering, injury or disease’.
His brother and fellow footballer Yoan was also charged for his involvement in the incident, which he filmed and posted onto Snapchat.
Hazel Stevens, for the prosecution, said Kurt Zouma could be heard in the video saying: “I swear I’ll kill it, I swear I’ll kill it.”
Adding that the forty-second clip appeared to have been recorded after the cats were blamed for damaging a chair, Stevens added: “Kurt Zouma is determined to chastise or carry out some sort of retribution for the damage caused.”
After the video started circulating on social media in February, the RSPCA removed two cats from Kurt’s home and began liaising with Essex Police about the incident.
In a statement at the time of the video’s circulation, the RSPCA said: “The two cats are now in RSPCA care. Our priority is and has always been the wellbeing of these cats.
“They’ve been taken for a check-up at a vets and then will remain in our care while the investigation continues.
“We’re grateful to everyone who expressed their concern for these cats. We were dealing with this issue before the video went viral online and are leading the investigation.
“We continue to investigate so we cannot comment further at this time.”