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.
Just bought my first F3 Savannah from A1. Can not wait to pick her up. You ass!
You appear to be calling me an ‘ass’. That is unfair an insulting because all I am doing is expressing my opinion. Free speech. You can express yours too but don’t insult when you do it, please.
Oh, and I know plenty of hybrid cat owners, Serval owners and hybrid cat breeders, and they condone hunting of any cats. To compare hybrid owners and breeders to hunters is insulting. Most breeders truly mourn if a kitten dies, or when they get adopted because they become attached to them. There are many involved with rescuing Bengals and Savannahs! It is a insult to say breeders would kill their cats! There is no coralation between canned hunting and hybrid cat breeding. Animals are bred and not taken from the wild. Geez you all are so uneducated. If you are going to write on a subject at least attempt to be objective. My guess is you are AR fanatic and think all breeding is wrong. Here is an idea, instead of bashing hybrid cat breeders actually talk to some. Do you not like over population? Put pressure on some of the AR groups such as PETA to stop killing people pets and actually open up spay and neuter clinics. Oh, I am sorry. They are more interested in skinny models pretending to screw themselves with veggies and taking videos for commercials. Imagine the good if they actually used the money for usefully!
Oh, I am not a breeder, but own two Bengals and a Savannah. I bought them from the breeders you are bashing. My family also has four rescue kitties so do not tell me we are not doing our part in helping homeless cats! I just get tired of reading AR propaganda in which you villinize all breeders as evil. As I see it, you are.
Your groups introduced a ban last year to make owning and breeding hybrid cats in California and Florida illegal. This did not grandfather early generation hybrid cats in. Which meant that they needed to be surrendered to a Sanctuary or be euthanized by animal control. Mass euthasia is alright in your AR book. Thank goodness it failed. Also, the lies about these cats, they are not wild. They make wonderful pets. Just because a few AR fanatics disagree with breeding, so you bully, threaten, bribe unfair and disgusting laws to punish small breeders! You take away owners rights, and use retail rescues and unethical animal control agents which are nothing more than AR fanatics to rob breeders of their animals! Then when the judge say they are innocent and you destroyed their livelihood, charge outrageous sums for their care, and of course the breeder cannot afford to get their animals… Puppies are sold off by a retail rescues for a outrageous price. I am sure the director of the shelter, and the animal control officer gets a nice commission. How ethical is that?!
While you are bashing owners and breeders and calling us animal abusers, look at what your own AR groups are doing. PETA killed someone’s beloved dog. Three rescues just got closed because of unsanitary conditions of the dogs and cats. HSUS has gotten racketeering charges, had to settle a law suit with the circus for lies and slander, Wildcat Sanctuary the founder was caught stealing from donations. Some disgusting AR arsonists burned down a recording studio and burned a encloser at a zoo for alligators, killing 7 of them. I am tired of you guys acting like you love animals. When your actions prove otherwise. How can you all say you love animals and lie about hybrid cats? Also support bans that would mass kill innocent house cats?!
Who is doing that? Not me. I am just saying that a breeder should be a hunter because their mentality is not correct.
Which comment are you referring to? My article did not state these things. I agree that some cat lovers are too dogmatic and too extreme in their views. There needs to be a balanced argument. I have a post on that subject:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/are-cat-lovers-too-serious-sometimes.html
I think it is wrong that he hunts and yet is involved with breeding Savannahs. I do not believe he uses his animals in canned hunting though, that is a truly heinous accusation. For one thing, F1s and Serval’s have been bred for generations I’m captivity, and worth a great deal of money. Why would he throw away money like that?
It is detestable he hunts cats close to the ones he sells. He is despicable for that. However, to say breeders are responsible for the homeless cats is unfair and uneducated! People need to start taking responsibility for not spaying and neutering their cats and dogs! It is not breeders dropping off surplus puppies and kittens because Fido jumped the fence to get to Fluffy. Or Precious snuck outside during her first heat cycle. That is squarely on irresponsible ownership. Stop villianizing breeders, and look in the mirror of who need to take responsibility for over population!
Hi Stephanie. Thanks for commenting. I don’t who said he uses his cats in canned hunting. That as you say is obviously wrong and a crazy suggestion. Breeders are not responsible for homeless cats but there existence makes the cat homelessness problem worse for obvious reasons.
It must have been a comment which stated that. I don’t villanize breeders. I just say it the way it is. When over 2 million healthy adoptable cats are killed at shelters annually it seems wrong that breeders are creating more cats, don’t you think?
What I found VERY concerning during my own recent research into “Trophy hunting” & “Canned Hunts” is, I found this statement in an article written about Trophy hunting –
…after reading that statement – my thoughts are seeing how these two businesses of owning a respectable cattery & then trophy hunting business (which offers such rare cats like endangered cheetahs to be provided to shoot and kill) really do mix like vinegar and water – one must really question the intention here in purchasing such a large scale operation cattery that raises both savannahs & african servals?
Hi Catlover. Yes, the exotic cat business, private zoos, lion steaks, tiger wine, small wild cat pets, canned lion hunts, breeders of lions and tigers, breeders of hybrid lions/tigers (ligers) etc. are often linked. It is the “exotic cat” business and I personal hate it. It is nothing less than abuse and exploitation of our beautiful wild cats and this abuse promotes the extinction of these cats in the wild and in captivity (inbreeding causing sterility and health problems).