West Ham’s Kurt Zouma receives 180 hours of community service for kicking, slapping cat

West Ham United defender Kurt Zouma has been sentenced to 180 hours of local community services for kicking and slapping his pet cat in abuse caught on online video.

The 27-calendar year-previous has also been banned from maintaining cats for five several years just after pleading guilty to two counts of causing needless struggling to shielded animals at Thames Magistrates’ Courtroom.

Zouma’s young brother, Yoan, was sentenced to 140 several hours of neighborhood services on Wednesday. The 23-12 months-outdated was suspended by his club, Dagenham & Redbridge FC, after the footage appeared.

Yoan filmed the incident involving the cat in February and posted it on Snapchat.

Kurt Zouma could be observed kicking his Bengal cat throughout his kitchen, prior to throwing a pair of sneakers at it and slapping its head.

“Each of you took part in this disgraceful and reprehensible act with this pet cat,” district decide Susan Holdham explained.

“The cat looked up to you to treatment for its demands. On that date in February you did not supply for its wants.”

West Ham fined Zouma two weeks of wage — the highest volume possible — when the incident arrived to light-weight, but supervisor David Moyes continued to decide the defender to play when in good shape. Zouma also dropped a sponsorship offer with Adidas.

The Royal Society for the Avoidance of Cruelty to Animals took Zouma’s two pet cats into care immediately after the incident.

The RSPCA brought the prosecution in opposition to the brothers even although it does not have the power to cost individuals.

British regulation permits organisations these kinds of as the RSPCA to use specialist attorneys to carry private prosecutions towards people today, with these conditions listened to in courtroom and sometimes taken above by community prosecutors.

A West Ham spokesperson mentioned: “West Ham United can affirm that Kurt Zouma has been handed a neighborhood company purchase subsequent an investigation by the RSPCA.

“West Ham United wishes to make very clear that we condemn in the strongest conditions any type of animal abuse or cruelty. This sort of behaviour is unacceptable and is not in line with the values of the soccer club.

“Within 48 hrs of the footage emerging, we fined Kurt the greatest obtainable to the club. Each and every one penny of this dollars is now with a amount of deserving charities, all dedicated to animal welfare.

“Kurt admitted at the earliest possibility that what he did was mistaken. He has apologised without reservation.

“We hope that now the court has arrived at its decision, everybody will let Kurt the likelihood to learn from his slip-up and move on.”

Data from The Affiliated Push and Reuters was included in this report.