Kurt Zouma under 24/7 guard as West Ham defender fears for safety after death threats

Posted Wednesday, May 25, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty to two accounts of offences under the Animal Welfare Act after a video was shared on social media of him appearing to kick and slap his cat earlier this year.

Kurt Zouma under 24/7 guard as West Ham defender fears for safety after death threats
Kurt Zouma has pleaded guilty to two accounts of offences under the Animal Welfare Act (Image: Holly Allison/TPI/REX/Shutterstock)

Kurt Zouma is under 24/7 guard after the footballer admitted volleying his cat across the kitchen.

The West Ham defender, 27, fears for his safety after facing death threats and hatemail. He could face up to six months after a video emerged showing him attacking the Bengal moggy. Zouma, 27, could be heard saying: “I’ll kill it. I swear I’ll kill it.”

His brother Yoan, 24, who plays for National League side Dagenham & Redbridge, posted the 40-second clip on Snapchat with laughing emojis. The attack came to light after Yoan’s date saw it, cancelled their hook-up and raised the alarm.

Kurt Zouma is being prosecuted by the RSPCA under the Animal Welfare Act for kicking his cat (Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Hazel Stevens, prosecuting, said the “shocking” video showed him kicking a cat in the abdomen “as though it were a football”.

Zouma pleaded guilty to two counts of causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, while his brother admitted aiding, abetting and procuring him to commit a crime at Thames Magistrates’ Court, east London.

Both were released on bail pending sentencing on June 1.

Kurt Zouma under 24/7 guard as West Ham defender fears for safety after death threats
Kurt Zouma and his brother Yoan have been released on bail pending sentencing on June 1 (Image: PA)

Judge Susan Holdham banned Zouma’s address from being revealed after his lawyer Trevor Burke QC told how he now has “stringent” 24-hour home security.

Mr Burke said: “Mr Zouma, as a result of this video, has received racial abuse over the internet that is the worst the FA has ever experienced. It is grotesque.”

Police seized Zouma’s two cats after the incident on February 6. West Ham fined him £250,000.

The RSPCA’s Dermot Murphy said: “We’ll not tolerate cruelty.”