West Ham defender Kurt Zouma pleads guilty to animal cruelty charges

Premier League footballer Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty in court to two counts of animal cruelty after a video was published online of him kicking and slapping his cat.

The West Ham United defender arrived at court accompanied by several security guards who emerged from a vehicle holding umbrellas trying to form a protective shield around the 27-year-old.

Zouma pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act when he appeared at Thames Magistrates’ Court in London on Tuesday.

The harrowing footage was filmed and shared by his younger brother Yoan, 24, who admitted one offence during the hearing.

The court was told about footage, filmed at Zouma’s home and posted on Snapchat by his brother on February 6.

It was later seen by a woman who had been messaging Yoan, who raised the alarm.

Zouma could be seen volleying the Bengal cat across his kitchen, before throwing a pair of shoes at it and slapping its head.

Prosecutor Hazel Stevens told the court Kurt Zouma could be heard saying: “I swear I’ll kill it, I swear I’ll kill it.” He admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on February 6.

West Ham fined Zouma two weeks' salary – the maximum amount possible – when the incident came to light, but manager David Moyes continued to pick the defender to play.

Yoan, who plays for fifth-tier side Dagenham and Redbridge, admitted one count of aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring his older brother to commit an offence.

Prosecutor Ms Stevens said the 40-second clip appeared to be carried out after the cats were deemed responsible for damaging a chair in the home.

She said: “Kurt Zouma is determined to chastise or carry out some sort of retribution for the damage caused.”

She said the young