Kurt Zouma has had his two cats taken away from him by the RSPCA after footage emerged of him kicking and slapping one of the family pets.
A video emerged on Monday evening of Zouma drop kicking his cat across his kitchen floor before chasing it and slapping the pet. Zouma was also filmed throwing his shoe at the animal.
In response to the video, the RSPCA have today taken both of Zouma's cats into care. West Ham have fined the defender two weeks' wages with the money being donated to animal welfare charities.
In a statement today, the RSPCA said: "The two cats are now in RSPCA care. Our priority is and has always been the well-being of these cats.
"They've been taken for a check-up at 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."
West Ham are supporting the RSPCA investigation into Zouma's actions and repeated their condemnation of the player's behaviour: "West Ham United can confirm that the club is supporting an RSPCA investigation into the actions of Kurt Zouma in the video circulated online this week.
"Kurt and the club are co-operating fully with the investigation and the player has willingly complied with the steps taken in the initial stage of the process, including delivering his family’s two cats to the RSPCA for assessment. Kurt is extremely remorseful and, like everyone at the club, fully understands the depth of feeling surrounding the incident and the need for action to be taken.
"Separate to the RSPCA’s investigation and pending further sanction once the outcome of that process is determined, West Ham United can confirm that Kurt Zouma has been fined the maximum amount possible following his actions in the video that circulated. The player has immediately accepted the fine, which will be donated to animal welfare charities.
"West Ham United would like to reiterate our condemnation of Kurt’s actions and make it clear that the matter continues to be handled with the utmost seriousness. However, we believe it is now important to allow the RSPCA to conduct their investigation in a fair and thorough manner, and will be making no further comment at this stage."
A petition on Change.org, started by Anti Animal Abuse, demanding the prosecution of "the perpetrators of this heinous act" urged the RSPCA to "remove all animals from Zouma's 'care' immediately", has so far attracted over 150,000 signatures.
Despite the situation, David Moyes elected to start Zouma during West Ham's win over Watford on Tuesday evening.
