Chris Packham has called for West Ham’s Kurt Zouma to work at an animal welfare centre, after pleading guilty to kicking and slapping his cat.
The BBC Springwatch host says : “It’s difficult to punish a footballer financially, they are just so wealthy.
“But wouldn’t it be good if they said: ‘Right, what we want you to do is go and work in an RSPCA rehabilitation centre and you’ve got to do 30 days’ work there, and then we could make a film about that.’
“I would like to see him now play a prominent role in animal welfare – he could turn it around. That’s what he should do. He should say: ‘I am a genuinely reformed character. I’m genuinely sorry and to prove that I’m going to play a role advocating animal welfare’.”
The 27-year-old Frenchman pleaded guilty to two counts under the Animal Welfare Act at Thames Magistrates’ Court in east London last week.
He and his brother, lower-league footballer Yoan Zouma, 24, will be sentenced this week.
Chris, 61, right, who is the RSPCA vice president, returns to screens with Springwatch on Monday night on BBC2.
He added: “Large numbers of people look up to footballers as role models, understandably, and I think therefore footballers have to embrace the responsibility that comes with that.
“On this occasion, this young man failed to do that.
“I am very pleased that the RSPCA has been able to take this to court to make sure that it receives the public attention that it deserves.”
The RSPCA will receive donations as part of the latest Omaze house draw for a £3.5million Cotswold home.
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