A warning to all animal lovers: the Kurt Zouma cat video below contains distressing images of the football star kicking and slapping his feline in 41 seconds of footage that his brother filmed and posted to Snapchat on Sunday afternoon.
The Premier League footballer who plays for West Ham is seen inside his £2 million mansion picking up his cat before dropping it and kicking it across the kitchen in horrific footage that has caused a global outcry.
Captioned with a series of ‘rolling on the floor laughing’ emojis, Zouma’s brother Yoan can be heard laughing in the background as his brother abuses the cat in front of a small child.
As the clip goes on, Zouma throws a pair of shoes at the cat and slaps him in the face as he tries to escape. The public outcry forced Zouma to issue an apology on Monday, insisting in a statement that the incident was an isolated one.
"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.
But as far as animal lovers are concerned, his apology doesn’t go far enough with one YouTuber writing, “When I heard about this I thought 'ah, ok sounds bad, but was it an overreaction?'. Watching it now, I am horrified. I think he should be suspended from playing as a statement and warning against such disgusting behaviour.” Another chimed in with, “A coward and a bully.”
Zouma went on to assure the public that his cats “are loved and cherished by our entire family, and this behaviour was an isolated incident that will not happen again."
West Ham were quick to issue their own statement in which they strongly condemned Zouma’s actions. "We have spoken to Kurt and will be dealing with the matter internally, but we would like to make it clear that we in no way condone cruelty towards animals."
A spokesperson for the RSPCA has also made it clear that kicking, hitting and slapping animals is unacceptable behavior, stating "We are so grateful to people who report suspected animal suffering to us and we would like to reassure people we will always look into and, if necessary, investigate any complaints made to us about animal welfare."
