A1 Savannahs has changed hands from Martin and Kathrin Stucki to Martin M. Engster and family. This was a two stage handover. At first, the Stucki’s sold a share in the business and then after a while the remainder of the business was transfered to the Engster family.
A1 Savannahs is probably the most high profile cat breeders in the world. Compared to the typical hobby breeder they are vast. The facilities cover many, many acres in all. They breed Savannah cats of all generations, F1-F5 etc. and servals. Some people like to keep servals as pets or to breed F1 Savannahs from them. The serval is a medium sized wild cat. They raised the world famous Magic (female F1 Savannah), the world’s largest domestic cat, Motzie, another famous Savannah cat (F2) and Titan (F1 male). The famous Savannah cat video: A Beautiful Relationship, shows Magic with Andreas Stucki, the Stucki’s son.
The entire complex is very impressive. It is a real business as opposed to the typical cat breeder who does it for money, yes, but not as a full-blown business.
The Stuckis are great people. Highly professional and great hosts. I stayed at their guest house for ten days on one occasion. A1 Savannahs have a detached house on the premises for guests, usually buyers, who travel from many other countries to see the cats. They supplied F1 Savannahs to the King of Morocco as I recall.
A1 Savannahs is not only a cat breeding facility but the Stuckis also called it a farm because there are lots of other animals. That is the general background.
For me, and this is a personal issue, the new owner, Martin M. Engster is not my sort of person – not at all. Although I have no idea what he is like as a person, I do know, from quick research, that he sells guns and organizes hunting trips, including international hunts.
He runs a business called “Centerline Firearms”. This sort of mentality and activity is the kind I detest, sadly. A know a lot of people like to shoot animals for fun and they like their guns. This is anathema to me. Truthfully, too, I don’t think a person who likes to shoot animals for fun (sport hunting) should be involved in breeding cats. Sorry to state that. It it not meant as a criticism of the Stuckis. It is just that I feel strongly about these things.
There are many people who feel strongly about cat breeding never mind sport hunting. But Martin M. Engster combines the two. Arguably there is no place for cat breeding while there are millions of homeless cats wandering around starving and living miserable lives.
I am sure Martin M. Engster is businesslike. How sensitive is he towards the cats? A person who likes to kill animals cannot, in my opinion, be sensitive towards them. This is not good.
There it is. A sad day for me really. Just another little negative.
Is this the new owner of A1? Very disturbing photo
Thanks for sharing KSheppard.
A1 has earned it’s long time reputation and is well known in the Savannah breeding world as a cattery who’s bloodlines are to be AVOIDED. Poor business practices, lost pedigrees, and shady sales have preceded them so it does not surprise me that a cattery of this “caliber” has been sold to the highest bidder without any concern for the welfare of it’s cats.
I have a bad feeling about this, hunting for pleasure and being a cat lover don’t go together! I hate people who pose with dead animals as if it’s clever
I’m very disappointed that the Stuckis sold out to a hunter because I thought they were maybe one of the few breeders doing it for the love of cats and not for money.
This is just like Anita Roddick selling The Body Shop which never used animals to test their products, to L’Oreal, one of the worst firms for doing it.
I don’t like any cat breeders, especially the ones who breed deformed domestic cats or half wild/half domestic cats, to show for their own glory or to sell to make money.
I just hope the cats at that place don’t suffer dire consequences from this sale.
You are spot on right, Marc. The Stuckis were very nice to me on a personal level. They helped me build PoC by providing video material and I helped them build A1 Savannahs.
They knew I had difficulty in reconciling that with cat breeding and Kathrin had problems reconciling breeding with her own standards (I believe). She wanted to make the cat enclosures larger for instance.
But….at the end of the day, the bottom line (to quote 2 common sayings) cat breeding is a business and Martin is an excellent businessman. He is as sharp as a whip. He just sold for the best price and to a person he could trust, I guess.
I think the Stuckis knew the buyer. Perhaps they were friends. The Stuckis are Europeans with America citizenship. I think Martin M. Engster is the same.
I don’t know for sure.
Yes, it is like mixing oil and water. The trouble is that breeding cats is about producing products but….at least some breeders are particularly in tune with the fact that the product they produce is a living, feeling creature. At least that makes it a little more acceptable.
I hate seeing idiots with rifles standing over a propped up dead animal as if to proudly declare how fantastic I am. It is not fantastic. It is pathetic.
I have a feeling that Martin M. Engster will see this post. He’ll see it eventually and we may get a comment. Probably a rude one. He emailed me and I have told him I can’t work with him.