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.
I agree.
Thanks for sharing.
I am always a voice for animals but I haven’t commented again because Savannah Owner, you and Michael have said it all. There is no more to be said, you are right about this murderer, there is no way he cares about animals. I just hope and pray the cats in his care are looked upon as creatures with the right to live and sold only to people who will care for them properly, because the wild animals he kills obviously mean nothing to him at all apart from being trophies and to be made money from.
And the word is “copyright”. If you’re going to have an opinion, at least be educated about it.
It was not me who misspelled copyright.
Go ahead and try to deflect the attention from the original subject. You can try to defend him cover up this travesty but this is all over the internet and it is spreading like wildfire on FB. I made a typo because I was in a hurry. Seems to me I am much more educated than you are and humane too. I guess you must enjoy to trophy hunt as well. So here is my wish for you and your friend I hope you go on safari together and a pack of Cape Buffalo stampedes and tramples you to death! What a fitting end. If you do not like what you see on this page then leave go look at pictures of the poor dead animals on your friends website, it seems you would enjoy day dreaming about your next trophy kill much more than hanging out here with people who are compassionate and concerned about animals. Maybe you only see 9 people here but trust me there are many, many people on FB sharing this info. Your pitiful excuses and defense of this man are just a blip on the screen, meaningless and useless so I am finished corresponding with you.
Savannah Owner, I just want to say well done. I admire you.
Thank-you Michael and the admiration is mutual. I found this info first on FB and in researching I found that everything I read was true I saw it all on his own website and then I came across your website. I hope that more and more people pick up all of this info and and continue to spread the word about this sad situation. Many people are mortified about this and if we can get the word out maybe we can prevent people from supporting him and his business and he will sell out. I do not see him keeping the business if he cannot sell his kittens. Thank-you for being an advocate of these beautiful beloved cats and the other animals that they slaughter. Someone has to be a voice for the animals.
Thank you for your support. What is so typical is that these people defend the indefensible for the sake of the almighty dollar. It is obvious that a person who kills for fun cannot be suited to cat breeding. In fact there is no longer a place in the world for killing animals for fun. All sport hunting should be banned. It disgusts me. Sadly, business works with politics to keep these things going.
You just proved my point. You made an assumption that an animal hunter cannot also be an animal lover. That, my friend, is an OPINION. You said you were going to fly out and visit the cattery…and that when it was sold you have yet to, as of this date, visit the cattery. Had you visited the cattery, I would have no problem whatsoever with whatever opinion you could have formed while researching your purchase. But you didn’t. You formed your judgement because you apparently have an issue with people who hunt for sport. Thats fine, and you obviously have the right to take issue with that particular hobby, but to assert that one who hunts wild animals for sport cannot possibly love a domesticated animal raised for companionship is just asinine.
Well then I guess almost everyone on this page is asinine because most of us seem to feel the same. I did not go visit the cattery yet because I am not ready yet to buy a kitten. I wanted to go when I was ready to buy a kitten so I could bring the kitten home with me. I did not decide not to go due to change of ownership. The only assumption I made was to assume that the new owners must also love animals. I am very glad this came to light. There is nothing that anyone could say to me to make me believe that a person who trophy hunts and guides safaris for others to kill for fun is a true animal lover. I could NEVER kill an animal for a trophy. If you believe a man who kills wild animals for trophies and makes a living by charging outrageous prices to help others kill animals to hang on their walls can be a loving and caring hybrid cattery owner. It is you who are asinine. A breeder should love and care about the breed and preservation of the breed and anyone who felt this way would not do what he does or post a picture of himself proudly showing a wild African cat that he murdered for fun. If you choose to believe that he is so wonderful, that is your right but many on this board feel very different. There is nothing you can say to change my mind or to justify his actions in the eyes of true animal lovers everywhere.
You’re right. The nine people on this page have a grudge against sport hunters, that has become abundantly clear. I’m sorry you’re too judgmental of others to make a determination for yourself based on actual communication rather than posted pictures. As for breed preservation: what do any of his trophies have to do with the degradation of the savannah breed? Is there some link between the water buffalo and the Serval that I am unaware of? Even the Caracal is not a part of the breed, but merely genetically related…and with as much of a percentage as humans are to apes.
Please, stop trying to hide your prejudices against others as concern for the cats. If you were concerned for the animals, as you say you are, you would be doing more than judging the current owners on the internet.
Also, You are right, I do not deny it, I do not believe that a trophy hunter and guide can be a true animal lover. Everyone here knows that all posts here are the opinions of the authors but the pictures and conflict of interest displayed by the Engsters are fact. So here are the facts:
Fact 1- Martin Engster has killed a beautiful wild Caracal and had the pic posted on his trophy hunting guide website sporting a big proud smile!
Fact 2- Martin Engster charges people to go on safari around the globe and he puts outrageous prices on the heads of beautiful wild and exotic animals including wild cats such as leopards, cheetahs and caracals (no price listed for caracals but since he killed on and has a pic of it, I guess they are fair game as well)
Here are just a few of the defenseless animals he offers to assist trophy kill From his website:
Following animals on request:
Cheetah $ 3000.- (CITIES regulations are strict)
Water Buck $ 2200.-
Leopard $ por
Giraffe $ 2800.-
Eland $ 2000.-
Impala Common $ 1000.-
(See the complete list in a post above)
Fact 3- He and his family now owns a cattery with exotic African cats and hybrids.
If you feel he can be a loving and caring owner to the same species that he hunts and kills for pleasure, that is your right and that is YOUR opinion. Even if I had visited the cattery and did not know about any of this, what I saw there may or may not represent the true person. It is not difficult for a person to pretend to be someone that they are not for a few hours especially if they are going to make a financial gain.
If there is no conflict of interest and if there is nothing wrong with what he does then why did he remove all of the pics that show him holding the caracal he murdered from his business site and why did he make his pics private on FB. Simple because he has been exposed! He knows that people know what he is all about and he is getting a lot of flack from cat lovers everywhere and it is well deserved. He needs to put the cattery up for sale and let someone who honestly cares and loves the breed take it over.
Firstl, I did not make that assumption. I said a hunter can’t be sensitive to cats, which is more common sense to be honest. And if it is an opinion, I am entitled to make one on my own website. Lastly I am not your friend, clearly not.
I think you should stop trying to defend the indefensible. I mean hunting nowadays is madness considering how most wild cat species are becoming gradually extinct in the wild due to human activity. How can you defend this person?
That comment was in reply to another posting, Michael, I do apologize for the confusion.
Secondly, please don’t be so confused as to think that I actually meant to call you a friend…I was using sarcasm to emphasize a point. I would never be friends with someone so quick to judge others based on one aspect of their life in the absence of any other research.
I do think, however, you should stop trying to force your opinions on your readers as facts. Hunting nowadays is big business all over the world, and the fact that you don’t like that doesn’t make it any less true.
So, for all of you claiming that a murderer cannot also be a loving, devoted cat owner/cattery owner, you’re vegan right? No leather, meats, or animal products at all for you, because that’s murder, and if you murder one thing, you must be a cold blooded killer across the board, right?
Hunting may not be your thing, and you may rightly have an issue against it, but I dare say that if we were to dive into each and every one of your social media pages and take a look at all your pictures we might find one or two that we could judge you and your entire life on? Oh, you drink alcohol, you must be an alcoholic and shouldn’t be allowed near children or defenseless animals, because people who drink alcohol are all inherently bad people, right? It’s the same type of argument.
You don’t like that he hunts, guides hunts, and raises the breed standard for Savannahs? Cool, why don’t you call him up; cough up the same amount of money he did, and give the animals a “better” master? Oh, that’s right, because then you wouldn’t be safe at home anonymous behind a keyboard.
For any of you lambasting him for pictures he has online, I dare you to post your social media profiles for enhanced scrutiny.
Please, are you serious? I do not like any sort of hunting but I can understand if someone needs to hunt so they can feed their family. Seeing pics of a man
and his family on Safari and knowing that he promotes trophy hunting and actually accepts money to take others out to murder animals is a far cry from someone who hunts animals that will feed their family. They are not just hunting to kill for the fun of it. Good for him if he raises the breed standard but what if he has a few that are not breed standard and he cannot sell them. What if one of the serval’s or even a savannah decides to scratch or bite him or a member of his family or his staff? A person who murders innocent animals and takes money to help others do for shows no regard or love for nature or
the life of the animal. It is not a huge stretch of the imagination that if one of these animals angers him or he no longer wants it around and he cannot make any money from the animal that the animal will be in great of being killed by his hand or by his order. Your arguments are just silly and outrageous. We have all seen several pics of the carnage that he and his hunts have caused. I do not drink but seeing pics of people having a drink does not make me think that they are alcoholics. Drinking alcohol and the slaughtering of animals are nowhere in the same category. If you have noticed, there are more than one or two people who are upset about this and this is not judgement, this is reality, he is a murderer. Just because he had the money to buy the cattery does not make him a good person. He bought the cattery with BLOOD MONEY! Money he made organizing killing missions. How would you feel if your dog was out playing in your own backyard and someone came and shot him and lead missions of people to do the same. This same person proudly displayed pics of their kills on a website wearing big smiles, so proud of their hunting skills and then one day you noticed that the same person bought a huge dog breeding kennel???? The same man who killed an innocent dog who was minding his business in his own yard? TO me and many others, what he does is no different! If he had hunting pics up, where he killed a turkey or a deer or other animals that he planned to feed to his family, I do not think anyone would have an issue with him. I am a business owner and because I have been very successful in my business.I built and developed my business from the ground up and due to my success, I have been a victim of other business owners who are jealous and who cannot compete on a level playing field so they chose to manufacture lies and post them on line to try to hurt me and my business. None of them have managed to hurt me. My business is doing better than ever but the lies they told really bothered me because I care about my reputationand I have worked so hard to get where I am. Because I know how competing businesses can be, I would NEVER spout off about something that I did not research first and the research I did into Martin M. Engster the new owner of A1 Savannahs left me feeling traumatized and heartsick. Looking at the pics of all those beautiful dead animals, killed by his hand and or the hands of those who paid him to organize their hunt just made me sick. They were all so disturbing and the worst and most disturbing is the pic of him holding the dead wild caracal. This family is being supported from blood sport including killing wild cats for fun and now they plan to make money off of selling hybrid cats. It looks bad for the cats, very bad. How would any reasonable person believe that he is compassionate and cares about the emotions and physical needs of these beautiful animals if he is out making money killing other animals for trophys? To the person above who wanted to give an example and compared a person having a casual drink or the person who eats meat or has leather goods, here is one for you……
Should a person who has killed a child and proudly posted pics of the dead child and helped other child killers do the same be allowed to open a daycare? Talk about the fox watching the hen house. True animal lovers all feel the same. In my opinion and apparently, many others we do not feel that this family purchased the cattery because of love of the cats or passion for the breed or to correct all that some of you claim were issues with the previous owners. It appears that this is nothing more than a business venture to him. I do not deny that we should all be able to earn money or that breeders should not make money for all of their hard work. Some breeders truely care about their breed and pour their heart and soul into their animals and they research and spend hours socializing and caring for the needs of their animals. They spend enormous amounts of money on their animals and many even donate time to rescue programs and education and laws to protect the animals. Their animals are a part of their families and they carefully screen potential homes, they do not just sell to the first person who has the money. They want to be sure that their babies will be in the right home. Breeder like this deserve to make money for all of their hard work and care. They do not always make money off of every litter due to the large amount that they spend an the best food and vet care and other essentials as well as things that they buy just to enhance the life of their animals, toys, treats soft beds and so forth. I bought my first Savannah about 6 months ago and I am in love with this breed. I plan to add another one to my home in the next year or so. I know all of these things because I did a great deal of research into breeding and care of these animals before I chose to drop a huge amount of money. I wanted to make sure I was not buying from a person who raised these kittens just to turn a buck. I wanted to make sure they truely loved and cared for the breed and that the animals were being treated with love and respect. I will only buy my next kitten from a breeder such as I have described above. I will not line the pockets of the new A1 Savannah owners to help them fund more hunts to kill more beautiful wild animals across the globe and I hope others see all of the bad press and do the same.
Again, you’re making an assumption based on your opinion of hunting. Have you examined the screening process for homing the kittens yourself, or are you just making an assumption because of your prejudice? Have you a actually researched the company and attempted to discover what happens to kittens who are “not marketable” or are you again making an assumption based on your prejudice?
I hate to tell you, but anyone who is breeding Savannahs in the USA has to attribute the lineage of their cats to A1S at some level…because all bloodlines in the USA started with them. Check the records with TICA. I also regret to inform you that the original owners began breeding he magnificent creatures to make a profit, as only breeding an animal that claims such a lofty price tag can. So if your desire is to not patronize businesses that care about profits and are only there for the betterment and appreciation of the animals, I suggest you look outside the Savannah breed, because there very existence in this part of the world can be reduced to one inalienable fact: the desire to make money.
Their*
Apparently, you did not comprehend what I said. I have no problem with a breeder making a profit if they are breeding for the right reason, betterment of the breed, preservation and so on. As I said. I am a business owner and a business needs to make a profit to flourish and to grow. I am just saying that the care and love that a breeder feels for the breed must be there too. You are saying that we are making assumptions, there are no assumptions it is all there for all to see. Why do you think so many animal lovers are so upset.
Also, the history of A1 Savannahs and the lineage has no reflection on the current owner, they did not build the business. Whatever A1 contributed to the breed is not relevent. Martin M. Engster cannot take credit for any of that. They bought the business a few months back. How do I know??? I had signed up for alerts with the previous owners because I was considering flying out to meet them and possibly add one of their kittens to my family in the next year. I was so excited to see the cattery and meet the cats and the owners. When the cattery was sold, I was a little surprised but I was sure that they must be loving caring animal people. I now feel that could not be further from the truth. This has nothing to do with my opinion of hunting. It is my opinion of hunting just for a trophy. Killing animals for the thrill of it. A true animal lover could/would never do this. The fact that he does it is terrible enough but the fact that he makes money from others to help them do the same takes it to a whole new level of horrible! His website has prices listed for each type of animal his client wishes to murder. Like a grocery list, it is just so sad.
If a person needs to feed their family and they need to hunt to accomplish this, I can understand that. I could never do it myself but I do not judge or condemn those who do and I would not judge this man for that either. I also stated that in my above post. Below is a page from their website. I have copied and pasted it here because there was no copy write listed on the page. Oh, look… they even have trackers so the paying “hunters” do not have to do anything except follow along and shoot when they are told where the animals are. Wow what great “hunters” they must be.
Hunting Namibia – Africa
Centerline African Safari Outfitters – Namibia
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Warthog
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Oryx
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Baboon
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Kudu
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Zebra
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Blue Wildebeest
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Black Wildebeest
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Hartebeest
Namibia Trophy Hunt – Springbok
Welcome to Namibia and Plains-Game Hunting at its Finest.
Centerline is proud to offer customized hunts in various regions of Namibia covering more than 300-thousand acres of different terrain with Kudu, Oryx, Wildebeest, Hartebeest, Zebra, Blesbuck, Springbuck, Warthog and many other game animals in abundance.
We hunt the plains, rolling hills, the mountains and a vast region between the Namib and the Kalahari Desert.
Accommodations range from very remote farms without electricity like Nababis at the edge of the Kalahari to fine game lodges with spacious rooms, private baths and even swimming pools.
With a limited amount of hunters per season we concentrate on first class hunts to give our clients the chance for quality trophies.
For the non-hunter photo safaris can be arranged.
Please contact us to discuss the details of your hunt.
Hunting season: Feb. 1st through Nov. 30th for plains game Aug. 1st through Oct. 31st for birds.
Rates ($USD):
Hunting day plains game
one on one $350.00
two on one $300.00
four on one $250.00
observer $150.00
Hunting day birds
$350.00 (includes 10 birds/hunter)
Included: accommodations with full board, transfers from and to airport, transfers in and out of hunting areas, ph, skinner, trackers, hunting license, field preparation of trophies
Not included: flight, drinks, tips
Trophy Fees ($USD):
Kudu $ 1200.-
Oryx $ 600.-
Hartebeest $ 600.-
Mountain Zebra $ 950.-
Blue Wildebeest $ 1000.-
Black Wildebeest $1300.-
Blesbuck $ 550.-
Springbuck $ 400.-
Steenbuck $ 400.-
Warthog $ 500.-
Baboon $ 200.-
Jackal $ 100.-
Following animals on request:
Cheetah $ 3000.- (CITIES regulations are strict)
Water Buck $ 2200.-
Leopard $ por
Giraffe $ 2800.-
Eland $ 2000.-
Impala Common $ 1000.-
Huntable game birds:
Guineas, Francolin, Sandgrouse, Rockpidgeon, Cape laughing dove, Senegaldove, Cape Teal, Redbilled Teal, Egyptian Goose
Centerline Firearms can customize your trip within our abilities and the rules and regulations of the Game Department of Namibia.
Trips have to be booked about three months ahead of time. A down payment of 20% of the daily rates (does not include game fees) is required and non-refundable.
We look forward to making your next hunting trip an unforgettable one.
CENTERLINE FIREARMS SHOWROOM
2110 N Ash
Ponca City, OK 74601
(580) 762 5451
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BROWNING CITORI OVER & UNDER 12 GAUGE SHOTGUN
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yea it just saddens me as if no one stands up for these animals.