West Ham defender, Kurt Zouma, to appear in court for kicking his cat

By Amina Hilda

Kurt Zouma, West Ham defender, has been charged with animal welfare offences.

The football player, is expected to appear at the Thames Magistrate Court in England on Tuesday for a first hearing.

In a video which went viral in the month of February this year, the player was spotted kicking his cat on the abdomen and slapping it.

Kurt Zouma has been charged with two counts of causing “unnecessary suffering” as well as one count of failing to protect the cat from “pain, suffering, injury or disease.”

Zouma was reportedly fined two weeks wages, worth about 250,000 Euros by the West Ham, yet he Continued to play for the club.

The two cats belonging to Zouma were taken to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) where they are being taken care of.

West Ham since then has reportedly made series of donations to animal welfare charities in the UK and overseas.