Premier League footballer Kurt Zouma has been ordered to do 180 hours of community service and banned from keeping cats for five years after pleading guilty to kicking and slapping his pet cat.
The 27-year-old West Ham United defender sparked outrage after a viral video, filmed by his brother Yoan and posted on social media in February, showed him dropping one of his cats and kicking it across the floor.
A judge at Thames Magistrates Court in east London told the brothers on Wednesday they had both taken part in a "disgraceful and reprehensible act with this pet cat" before handing down their sentences.
"The cat looked up to you to care for its needs. On that date in February you did not provide for its needs," said district judge Susan Holdham
The Frenchman's brother Yoan, who plays for Dagenham & Redbridge, was been sentenced to 140 hours of community service and also banned from keeping cats for five years.
Last month Zouma pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
The France international was also forced to apologise after the harrowing footage showed him kicking the cat across the floor, throwing shoes at the animal and chasing it around the room before slapping it across the head.
He could also be heard in the video saying “I swear I’ll kill it, I swear I’ll kill it.”
West Ham said they condemn any form of animal abuse or cruelty.
"This type of behaviour is unacceptable and is not in line with the values of the football club," a club statement said.
"Within 48 hours of the footage emerging, we fined Kurt the maximum available to the club. Every single penny of this money is now with a number of deserving charities, all dedicated to animal welfare."
Zouma's two Bengal cats have since been placed under the care of animal charity RSPCA.
Although he lost his sponsorship deal with sportswear brand Adidas, Zouma continued to enjoy the support of West Ham manager David Moyes and made 33 appearances across competitions as the Hammers finished seventh in the league.
Reuters/ABC
