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.
yea it just saddens me as if no one stands up for these animals.
I confess to being confused as to why the Stuckis sold to this person. They must have known him well and he offered a good price. In the end it comes down to pure business and the cat is a commodity.
Anyone who takes another living being’s life for fun should be allowed nowhere near any species of animal because they obviously don’t value animal life at all.
What else can this person have bought the place for other than to make money from! He is NOT an animal lover.
Kylee, it just reflects modern commercial life and the general relationship between people and animals. There is not enough respect for animals in general.
I understand your point but Sgt. Engster has to be the wrong person for the job of looking after a lot of cats. It is a very demanding and responsible job that can only be done to the highest standards, over a long period of time, if you like cats, in my opinion. Otherwise the cats become commodities, items in a production line. That will tend to lead to poor cat caretaking.
Hi, thanks for sharing. The idea about mini-safaris may not be that outlandish as you say. A1 Savannahs has a very large area behind the complex. It looks like it is about a square mile, which I suppose might be developed. I am guessing wildly. But there is no doubt in our minds that this is the wrong person to look after these cats. He cannot love cats or even like them if he likes to shoot animals for fun.