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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Josh O'Brien

Kurt Zouma's brother Yoan charged by RSPCA after sickening cat abuse

Yoan Zouma has been charged by Animal Welfare organisation the RSPCA after he filmed his brother, West Ham's Kurt Zouma, hurting his cat.

The disturbing footage was filmed by Yoan last month, while Hammers star Zouma has already been fined two weeks wages by his club, though he was never taken out of the side as punishment.

Yoan currently plays for Dagenham & Redbridge, who have since released a statement on the incident and the subsequent charge.

"Whilst Yoan continues to fully co-operate with the RSPCA, as this matter has now progressed further, Dagenham & Redbridge FC feel it is no longer appropriate for either Yoan or the Club to make any further statement.

"Dagenham & Redbridge FC maintain their position in that the Club continues to condemn all animal cruelty.

"Since the allegation, and whilst investigations were taking place, Dagenham & Redbridge FC took the decision that Yoan should not play football for the Club.

"Four weeks have now elapsed however since the incident, and the Club feels that any further suspension from the team would be detrimental to both the Club and Yoan.

"A decision has been made therefore for Yoan to be available to play.

"The Club reserves the right to take further action if deemed necessary after conclusion of the Court proceedings."

(Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo/REX/Shutterstock)

Yoan was initially taken out of the firing line by his club, but Kurt continued to be selected in the face of the controversy by manager David Moyes. The West Ham boss caused further anger with his explanation.

Moyes later urged for forgiveness for his player, stating: ""A mistake has been made and there are managers with players who have made mistakes. You want to feel there is forgiveness and an apology has been made."

Kurt was dropped by a number of his sponsors including Sportswear giants Adidas. The West Ham defender has been regularly mocked by opposition supporters since the video was uploaded to Snapchat in February, with some fans bringing in inflatable cat toys to poke fan at the Frenchman.

More than 80,000 people signed an online petition calling for Kurt to be prosecuted. The petition on Change.Org was started by Anti Animal Abuse.

A statement alongside the petition read: "In the UK we have laws against the abuse of animals, laws which should be applicable to everyone rich or poor, famous or not! We ask that the Metropolitan Police and RSPCA carry out an urgent investigation and prosecute the perpetrators of this heinous act."

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