I don’t watch football – or soccer, as it’s called back home – so I didn’t have a clue who Kurt Zouma was. And then a video appeared, and all hell broke loose in England (and in France.)
Who is he?
Kurt Zouma is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club West Ham United and the France national team. (from Wiki)
Born in Lyon, Zouma lives and plays soccer in England.
What was the video and why did all hell break loose?
Zouma was filmed kicking his cats and throwing objects at them as he chased them around the house. His brother, Yoan, was doing the filming and both of them were laughing. A child is seen in the kitchen of the £2m mansion. Believing these actions to be really funny and wishing to share, the brother posted the video on social media (with laughing emojis.)
The video went viral, the RSPCA was called in and took the cats away, Zouma was fined £250,000 (this only represents two weeks’ pay as he earns £125,000 a week), Adidas dropped their footwear sponsorship with him, the Mayor of London made a public statement against animal cruelty, and more than 160,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the footballer to be prosecuted. Oh, and the brother, Yoan, also a footballer with another club, was ordered to quit.
Professional sports men and women are supposed to be role models.
In France, animal rights’ groups are calling for Zouma to be suspended from the team. A complaint has been filed against him under the French penal code. Tough animal protection laws were introduced in France in 2021, meaning that the “mistreatment of animals” is punishable by up to four years in prison and a fine.
Still laughing, Zouma brothers?
Juliet in Paris
I read today that in his first field appearance since this story broke he was roundly booed by soccer fans…this case reminds me of the American football player from Georgia who was found guilty of animal abuse by running a dog fighting game https://aldf.org/case/case-study-animal-fighting-michael-vick/
Yes, you can see the video on YouTube of him being booed. Now he and his brother will think twice before abusing their pets. In my opinion? People who are capable of abusing defenceless small animals can do the same with children and women.
Incidentally, I believe that the brother should be fined and reprimanded too.
Cats have a beneficial effect on the human psyche that most people still cannot fathom thus appreciate, a quality that makes losing that pet someday such a heartbreaking experience. Yet, some cat-haters procure sick satisfaction from torturing naively-trusting thus likely sweet-natured cats whose owners have recklessly allowed them to wander the neighborhood at night.
Many hate cats simply for their innate resistance to heeling at their masters’ commands. Indeed, with their reptile-like vertical-slit pupils and Hollywood-cliché fanged hiss when confronted, in a world mostly hostile toward snakes, cats may have a permanent PR problem, despite Internet photo popularity. … I believe there’s a subconscious yet tragic human-nature propensity to perceive the value of life (sometimes even human life in regularly war-torn or overpopulated famine-stricken global regions) in relation to the conditions enjoyed or suffered by that life.
Again, only when overpopulations of unwanted cats are greatly reduced in number by responsible owners consistently spaying/neutering their pet felines might these beautiful animals’ presence be truly appreciated, especially for the symbiotic-like healthy relationship (contrary to common misinformation) they can and do give us. Pet cats’ qualities, especially their un-humanly innocence, indeed make losing them someday such a heartbreaking experience.
What a piece of shit.
People need educating, Marla. The world is overflowing with incredibly ignorant people, and they all need educating. Kurt Zouma and his brother should be court-ordered to work in animal abuse shelters up and down the country. They’ve been publicly humiliated, so that’s a good start. Have a good day.
It is a great start. I just struggle to understand how this behaviour was ever something to laugh about. It makes my stomach churn (I couldn’t even watch the video).
Proof that you can be super-rich and live in a multi-million dollar house, but at the end of the day you’re just a fricking simpleton dork. The video I posted only shows half of the abuse. There was more.
Cat cruelty/abuse occurs prolifically/daily/globally, for various reasons, though none morally justifiable. Normally, no criminal animal-abuse charges are laid against the perpetrators, which reveals a general societal devaluation of cat life and suffering.
Perhaps with such a mindset of feline disposability — e.g. ‘Oh, there’s a lot more whence they came’ — some cat-haters procure sick satisfaction from torturing naively-trusting thus likely sweet-natured cats, in particular those whose owners have recklessly allowed them to wander the neighborhood at night.
I believe that only when overpopulations of unwanted cats are greatly reduced in number by responsible owners consistently spaying/neutering their pet felines might these beautiful animals’ presence be truly appreciated, especially for the symbiotic-like healthy relationship (contrary to common misinformation) they can and do give us.
Meanwhile, it was reported a few years ago that the city neighboring mine (Surrey, B.C.) had an estimated 36,000 feral cats, very many of which suffer severe malnourishment, debilitating injury and/or infection. Yet, the municipal government, as well as aware yet uncaring residents, did little or nothing to help with the local non-profit Trap/Neuter/Release program, regardless of their documented success in reducing the needlessly great suffering.