FOOTBALLER KURT ZOUMA BANNED FROM OWNING CATS AFTER ANIMAL CRUELTY CONVICTION
French footballer and West Ham defender Kurt Zouma has been prohibited from owning a cat for five years after being sentenced over an incident that caused significant public outrage earlier this year.During a hearing at Thames Magistrates’ Court on June 1, Zouma was also ordered to undertake 180 hours of community service.
The 27-year-old, who has previously played for Chelsea, Stoke City, Everton, and Saint-Etienne, drew widespread condemnation in February when a video emerged on Snapchat showing him kicking and slapping his pet cat, claiming the animal had damaged household furniture.
The incident was met with global outrage.
In court, district judge Susan Holdham called Zouma’s conduct “disgraceful and reprehensible.” Zouma pleaded guilty to two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to a cat.
The court imposed a five-year ban on owning cats, along with a requirement to complete community service and to pay nearly £9,000 in legal costs.
The judge remarked: “The cat depended on you for care.
On that February day, you failed to meet its needs and inflicted unnecessary suffering for your own amusement.” The footage showed Zouma kicking the cat across a kitchen floor, throwing shoes at it, slapping its head, and uttering: “I swear I’ll kill it.” Following the event, Zouma’s Bengal cats were removed from his care and rehomed.
The video was recorded by his younger brother, Yoan Zouma, a professional footballer for Dagenham and Redbridge.
Yoan admitted to helping, encouraging, or facilitating his brother’s actions and was sentenced to 140 hours of community service.
Since the incident, Zouma has faced abuse, threats, lost a sponsorship deal with Adidas, been fined £250,000, and was excluded from France’s senior national team.
Dermot Murphy from the RSPCA highlighted the need for kindness to animals and condemned cruelty unreservedly.
The incident received significant media coverage and sparked widespread public condemnation.
