Premier League footballer Kurt Zouma has admitted to kicking his pet cat as he appears in court today.
Zouma, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act when he appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court in east London this morning (May 24). The West Ham United defender was forced to apologise after footage of the incident was filmed and shared by his younger brother Yoan, 24, who admitted to one offence during the hearing.
The Hammers defender arrived in court accompanied by several security guards who emerged from a vehicle while holding umbrellas to create a protective shield around Zouma. The pair will be sentenced next month.
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The court heard about the harrowing footage of the incident which was filmed at Zouma's home and posted on Snapchat by his brother on February 6. It was later seen by a woman who was messaging Yoan on the social media app.
In the footage, Zouma could be seen throwing the Bengal cat across the kitchen, before throwing a pair of shoes at it and slapping its head. Prosecutor Hazel Stevens told the court that Zouma could be heard saying "I swear I'll kill it, I swear I'll kill it."
Following the hearing, he admitted to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on February 6. Meanwhile, Yoan admitted to one count of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring his older brother to commit an offence.
Stevens added that the 40 second clip appeared to be carried out after the cats were blamed for damaging a chair in the home: "Kurt Zouma is determined to chastise or carry out some sort of retribution for the damage caused.”
She added that the young woman who first saw the footage was so horrified that she cancelled a date with Yoan, saying: "I don’t think hitting a cat like that is OK – don’t bother coming today.”
Ms Stevens added: “Since this footage was put in the public domain there has been a spate of people hitting cats and posting it on various social media sites. Their behaviour falls short of what is expected of a high-profile image.”
The Premier League defender has since agreed for his two Bengal male cats to be rehomed. It was not possible to state in court whether it was the same cat in each section of footage. However, experts said whichever animal had been struck would have likely suffered soft tissue damage to the head - mental and physical suffering would also have been inflicted.
Defending the West Ham player, Trevor Burke QC said his client had been fined £250,000 by his club and lost a “substantial” sponsorship deal with Adidas. He also noted that he had not been picked for the French national team.
“A Google search will always reveal the guilty plea and the video," Mr Burke added. District Judge Susan Holdham adjourned the proceedings until the sentencing hearing on June 1. Two further charges against the two men were also dismissed.
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