West Ham defender Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty to kicking and slapping a cat at his home in February.
The 27-year-old Frenchman admitted two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal on 6 February by kicking it in the abdomen and slapping it on the head.
In a video, posted to social media by his brother Yoan, the Premier League footballer can be seen picking up the cat and drop kicking it across the kitchen.
Another clip shows him viciously slapping the cat out of a child’s hands. He can also be seen throwing a pair of shows at it.
Today the court heard that Zouma can be heard in the footage saying: “I swear I'll kill it, I swear I'll kill it.”
The court heard that it was not possible to tell whether it was the same cat in each section of footage.
Animal welfare experts testified that the animal would likely have suffered soft tissue damage to the head, as well as mental and physical suffering.
Two cats have been taken away from the footballer’s family home and are still under the care Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA),
Zouma has now agreed that they can be rehomed.
Sentencing has been adjourned until June 1st.
Additional reporting from IRN …
