Otley Run: Clips of stag do in Leeds dressed as West Ham United player Kurt Zouma who abused his cat go viral

The clips of a large group of men dressed as West Ham United player Kurt Zouma and chasing another man dressed up as a cat have caught the attention of thousands online.

Footage emerged in February 2022 of the West Ham United defender abusing a cat. The clips were filmed by his brother Yoan and resulted in the two men being prosecuted by the RSPCA.

The Frenchman pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act when he appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court back in May 2022.

The RSPCA had already removed the two cats from Zouma’s care and West Ham United fined him two weeks’ wages. The courts also ordered him to undertake 180 hours of community service.

Clips have now been shared on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok of a large group of men wearing full West Ham United kits with ‘Zouma’ on the back of their shirts and chasing a man dressed as a cat.

Another clip shows the group outside of the Cats Protection charity shop on Otley Road.

The group were seen making their way down the infamous Leeds bar crawl on Saturday afternoon (April 13).

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The clips have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and while many have found the joke “hilarious”, some have not seen the funny side.

One person commented: “Don’t really get how animal abuse is funny tbh.”

Zouma, 29, reflected on the incident during an interview with the Evening Standard last year and revealed that the experience had been tough for both him and his family.

He said: “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.”