In a heart-wrenching case of animal cruelty, Dagenham & Redbridge centre-back Yoan Zouma uploaded footage where his brother Kurt was seen kicking a cat across the floor of his residence, followed by a few other acts of cruelty against the cat.
The West Ham defender was seen attacking the animal while his younger brother Yoan, also the cameraman in this case, laughed as the cat was beaten. The 27-year-old former Chelsea player first appears into the frame, with the cat in his hands. He then proceeds to release the cat from his grasp and boots it in mid-air, following which the cat slides across Zouma’s kitchen floor, much to the amusement of his cameraman brother.
The player then chased the cat around his £2 million mansion, and then threw a pair of designer shoes at the frightened feline creature, as he shouted in French, as the cameraman continued to laugh uncontrollably.
In the last frame, a child appeared with the cat in his hands and lifted it up, only for the two-time Premier League winner to deliver a resounding slap to the cat’s face, knocking it out of the child’s hands and crashing onto the floor. The cameraman’s laughter was a disturbing constant throughout the video, as his brother terrorised the poor creature.
Ironically, Zouma is the ambassador for the big cat charity Seed, something that could land the Frenchman in trouble, should the organisation choose to take legal action. Meanwhile, Zouma has issued a desperate apology, calling it an “isolated incident”.
“I want to apologise for my actions. There are no excuses for my behaviour, which I sincerely regret. I also want to say how deeply sorry I am to anyone who was upset by the video. I would like to assure everyone that our two cats are perfectly fine and healthy.”
his statement read.
The Hammer also issued a statement saying that they had spoken to Zouma and would deal with the situation internally. They also made it clear that the club does not support animal cruelty of any kind.
Zouma was apparently angry at the Bengal cat, which supposedly broke a vase at the French star’s home and “messed up” his house. Animal rights activists were furious at Zouma and expressed their sentiments through various social media platforms. Whether Zouma will face legal action remains to be seen.
