Kurt Zouma stag do was 'extremely sad' as Cats Protection slam stunt outside their shop

West Ham captain Kurt Zouma's cat abuse case was mocked by a group of lads on a stag do, and animal welfare charity Cats Protection have been left deeply unimpressed with their antics

The group of lads pretending to be Kurt Zouma chasing a cat might have found their stunt hysterical – but Cats Protection certainly didn't.

Footage from a no-doubt boozy stag do in Headingley, Leeds went viral over the weekend after several blokes dressed in West Ham shirts with 'Zouma' on the back mocked his animal abuse case from 2022. The video shared on social media left many in shock that an incident which caused so much public uproar could be poked fun of.

Almost two years ago, back in June 2022, the Hammers' captain pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal by kicking and slapping his pet cat. The 29-year-old was sentenced to 180 hours of community service, and was also handed a 12-month community order along with a ban from keeping cats for five years.

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Zouma has been on the end of plenty of flak ever since, including a 6ft 7in Daily Star moggie confronting him on the court steps when he faced the music for his actions. While the ex-Chelsea defender may have come to expect opposition fans singing songs about the event, he probably never thought he would see a British stag do base the whole theme of their day on his case.

In the stag do clip, baffled members of the public watched a lone groom dressed as a cat be pursued by a dozen men wearing full West Ham kits. And a second clip showed them on the route of the Otley Run pub crawl through the city's student area before callously taking turns to kick the groom up the backside while outside a Cats Protection League charity shop. There, they danced, chanted and gesticulated towards the store.

Animal welfare charity Cats Protection, who had expressed "outrage" with Zouma's act of cruelty, have since responded to the group's antics and condemned the behaviour that undermines the work done to protect animals from harm. "It’s unfortunate to see people mocking animal abuse and the awful incident which led to a criminal conviction for Kurt Zouma," said Stefan Blakiston Moore, Cats Protection’s Advocacy & Campaigns Manager.

"When the video surfaced, Zouma’s actions were rightly condemned and to see people making a joke of it in a busy high street is extremely sad.”

Zouma has since expressed remorse for his actions. When asked last year about how his life had changed since the video emerged, he said: “It's been a tough time for me and for my family. We've been through a lot. I made a mistake, I know - I made a bad one. I have to say sorry again for what I've done, but life is about moving on.

“My wife and my kids, my family, everybody around me, even at the club, the lads, the fans, people have helped me through everything. It affected me but they helped me and I've kept a smile on my face, because that's who I am."