You will, no doubt, have read about Kurt Zouma’s now infamous mistreatment of one of his pet cats.

The West Ham football player’s actions have been roundly condemned, not least by the club’s own supporters many of whom booed Zouma in the match against Watford last week (Watford fans, by the way, created a new chant of ’R.S.P.C.A.’ which adds an element of humour to an otherwise very grim situation).

One might expect animal welfare charities to speak out against Zouma, who was filmed by his brother dropping, kicking and slapping one of his Bengal cats, against a soundtrack of laughter - with the video footage finding its way onto social media platforms last week.

But he has also been condemned by politicians, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan calling his actions ’despicable’; and football pundits, with Gary Lineker describing himself as ’shocked and appalled’.

The conservationist Chris Packham explained why he was so outraged, stating that not only had Zouma broken the law [under the UK’s Animal Welfare Act, 2006] he had also set a standard that others may follow.

Packham added that by playing Zouma in the match against Watford, West Ham had sent out a message that mistreatment of an animal is acceptable, and that ’footballers are role models to millions of people and so in a way they set public standards ⦠so to put him on the pitch did sport no favours, it did football no favours, and I did us as a nation of animal lovers no favours. It was an absolute disgrace’.

The Cats Protection charity echoed these sentiments, stating that ’a decision has been taken to put football before the wellbeing of a sentient being’.

They added ’there is research which shows that people who practise cruelty towards animals are more likely to progress to becoming more aggressive towards humans’.

West Ham, who paid £29.8 million for the French international, have fined Zouma two weeks’ pay of £250,000 which has, apparently, been donated to animal welfare charities.

But this hasn’t put an end to the controversy, with several key sponsors now reviewing their support for the club; and Essex Police launching ’urgent enquiries’ into the video footage.

And what about the two Bengal cats?

Well, Zouma delivered them into the care of the RSPCA where they have been undergoing health checks, the outcome of which will form part of police investigations.

In the meantime, West Ham named Zouma as part of its squad to play last Sunday but, perhaps conveniently, he picked up an injury in training and did not take part in the match against Leicester City. The club have stated that they are standing by their player and that he is ’getting help’.

It’s rare for animal cruelty to hit the headlines in such a spectacular fashion, and we all eagerly await the findings of the police investigation.

Thankfully, most of the animals who come to us for rehoming have not been mistreated, and they are simply victims of circumstances such as owners divorcing, or an allergy developing in the family.

The most common reason at the moment for animals to be gifted into us is that owners cannot find rented accommodation that allows them to keep pets, and they are faced with the heart-breaking option of either becoming homeless or giving up a part of their family.

But the ManxSPCA can find loving new homes for all of these animals, often very quickly.

Rocky, for example, a Bengal like Zouma’s who came to us a couple of years ago, went to his new home within a week.