Cats Protection criticises Kurt Zouma parody group in Leeds

The group congregated outside a charity shop in Leeds

An animal welfare charity has described viral videos of a group of men dressed as West Ham footballer Kurt Zouma appearing to chase and kick a man dressed as a cat as "extremely sad".

Zouma was given community service in 2022 after he pleaded guilty to kicking and slapping his cat.

Videos emerged over the weekend showing the men in Headingley, Leeds, rallying outside a Cats Protection shop.

The charity said it was "unfortunate to see people mocking animal abuse".

One video appears to show the group on the route of the Otley Run pub crawl through the city's student area.

The footage shows a man dressed as a cat running away from the group, who are all wearing West Ham kits with Zouma's name and squad number on the back.

The pub crawl, which includes about 15 locations, has been the subject of concern by authorities with one councillor likening the area to Majorcan party resort Magaluf at a weekend.

Zouma was given 180 hours of community service for the offence

A second video shows the group outside the charity shop, where the group pretend to kick and hit the person dressed as a cat while others dance, chant and gesticulate towards the store.

A spokesman for Cats Protection, the UK's largest cat welfare charity, said: "It's unfortunate to see people mocking animal abuse, and the awful incident which led to a criminal conviction for Kurt Zouma.

"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."

The spokesperson said staff and volunteers at the shop had been unaware of the incident.

At the time of Zouma's conviction under the Animal Welfare Act, Cats Protection said they were "outraged by this act of cruelty" and criticised the punishment handed to him.

The footballer was said to be "extremely remorseful" for his actions.