Animal Cruelty! West Ham’s Kurt Zouma Pleads Guilty to Kicking, Slapping Pet Cat
These are not the best times for West Ham United defender, Kurt Zouma as he has pleaded guilty to kicking and slapping his pet cat in a controversial case of animal abuse that was caught on video.
The 27-year-old defender appeared at a hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court earlier today where he was accused of three offenses under the Animal Welfare Act in relation to footage of the abuse, which occured February 6th 2022 and went viral on major social media platforms.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, while another charge was dismissed. Based on his testimony and the evidence of the chares levelled against him, he is expected to be sentenced on June 1, 2022.
In the video evidence, which was filmed and posted on popular social media app, Snapchat by his younger brother, Yoan, Zouma could be seen kicking his Bengal cat across his kitchen, before throwing a pair of shoes at it and slapping its head.
In addition to the video evidence, the prosecutor Hazel Stevens also informed the court that Zouma could be heard saying: “I swear I’ll kill it. I swear I’ll kill it.”
It should be recaled that West Ham had fined Zouma two weeks of salary, which is the maximum amount possible when the incident came to light. He also ended up losing a lucrative Adidas deal over the incident.
