French international defender Kurt Zouma was sentenced by a British court on Wednesday to 180 hours of community service for abusing his cat, after the broadcast of a video that went viral which had provoked indignant reactions.
French international defender Kurt Zouma was sentenced by a British court on Wednesday to 180 hours of community service for abusing his cat, after the broadcast of a video that went viral which had provoked indignant reactions. The West Ham player, who pleaded guilty, was also banned from owning a cat for five years by Thames Magistrates Court, east London, who described his actions as ‘shameful and reprehensible’ in a an audience of a quarter of an hour.
A black suit over a white shirt and sneakers, Zouma, 27, arrived at court under the flashes of photographers, accompanied by security guards, while a person disguised as a cat was also waiting for him in front of the building. The video, where he was seen kicking and slapping his animal, was filmed on February 6 and shared on Snapchat by his little brother Yoan, 24, also a footballer, before being quickly deleted. Prosecuted for complicity, the latter was sentenced to 140 hours of community service.
heavy fine
“You both took part in these shameful and wrongful acts with this cat,” judge Susan Holdham said, pointing out that on this February day, the animal’s “needs” were not taken into account. . She also pointed out that the two men, taken as an example by many young people, had expressed “sincere remorse”. During Kurt Zouma’s court appearance on May 24, prosecutor Hazel Stevens said the video was shot after the player’s cats damaged a chair. She had found that there had been “an upsurge in people hitting cats and posting the images on various social media since its posting”.
The player’s two cats have since been handed over to animal welfare society RSPCA, which had launched proceedings to have Kurt and Yoan Zouma prosecuted under animal welfare legislation. In a press release, the London club of West Ham had “condemned in the strongest terms any form of abuse or cruelty towards animals”. “This type of behavior is unacceptable and does not correspond to the values of the club,” added a spokesperson. West Ham had not suspended their player and had even made him play a match the evening of the revelation of the case, causing a huge wave of protests.
The player had finally been fined nearly 300,000 euros, the highest possible, imposed by his club, and donated to animal protection associations. The sports equipment manufacturer Adidas had broken a sponsorship contract with him. West Ham had assured that, according to the information available to the club, the cats had “not suffered any physical injury”.