English Premier League footballer Kurt Zouma has admitted animal cruelty charges after a video taken by his brother of him kicking and hitting a cat went viral.
West Ham defender Kurt Zouma, 27, pleaded guilty at Thames Magistrates Court in east London on Tuesday to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act of causing unnecessary suffering to two cats.
His 24-year-old brother, Yoan Zouma, filmed the incident and posted it on Snapchat, using laughter emojis.
Yoan Zouma pleaded guilty to one offence of aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring Kurt Zouma to commit an offence.
The pair, who are both French nationals, will be sentenced next week.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) launched an investigation after the video was posted on Feb. 6 and swiftly went viral.
In the video Kurt Zouma could be seen chasing a cat around a house, kicking and slapping him, as his children watched. He reportedly reacted after the cat damaged a chair in his house with its claws.
Prosecutor Hazel Stevens described the video as “shocking” and “disgusting” and said Kurt Zouma could be heard saying, “I swear I’ll kill it, I swear I’ll kill it.”
Three days later Zouma’s two Bengal cats were seized by police and examined by a vet before being taken away by the RSPCA.
When the video went viral Kurt Zouma was booed by fans of his own club West Ham United and lost a sponsorship deal with German sportswear firm Adidas. He was also fined £250,000 ($313,463) by club manager David Moyes.
His lawyer, Trevor Burke QC, told the court on Tuesday Zouma had also suffered racist abuse and was not considered for selection for France.
A vet, who assessed the cats and watched the video, said in a statement: “The force of the kicking into the abdomen of a cat and the slapping of the cat to the head, both of which were with force, as seen in the video recording would have without any doubt in my mind have caused soft tissue trauma, pain, and discomfort to the cat.”
He added, “I have no doubt that Kurt Zouma knew or would be expected to know that kicking a cat into its abdomen would cause or was likely to cause pain, discomfort, and distress or worse injuries.”
The unnamed cats were signed over by Kurt Zouma in court and the RSPCA is now looking for new homes for them.
