Breeding Nonstandard Savannahs for Beginners

[admin]

Part of the issue is that while yes, we are breeding cats to resemble servals, many of us are also breeding to get to the SBT generation, considered domestic and much more accepted legislatively than the EG cats.

For those of us fighting to keep the savannah legal, it is vital that this continue...and we do lose some of the more intense serval look in the SBT, but I think that will change as breeders work on their programs.

I chose to breed SBT's and have not had ANY problem selling my kittens. I guess it helps that I am surrounded by states with restrictions on generations...

The bengal group has decided to not actively advertise nor push the ALC and EG Bengals for the very reason I mentioned above...you will find F1 and F2 Bengals, but I see more SBT Bengals than anything else...and while the Serval is a much friendlier, more attractive cat than the ALC, we have pretty much been told that the longer we promulgate the serval and EG cats, the more likely the bans and restrictions will continue...just a bit of food for thought!

 

[John Popp]

As I understand things, many of the legislative failures have surrounded the big cat people banding together and not segregating lions and tigers from smaller cats like the serval. It's a very bad line to draw in the sand with politicos that don't need to negotiate with you.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I thought we were breeding cats to look like servals to meet a standard. Only makes sense to me that would mean that breeding is trying to carry a lot of the serval genes forward.

But we are breeding a domestic replica, hence the genepool is also domestic cat DNA. So when estimating inbreeding and issues related to that, you take into consideration all the doubling up in the pedigree...not just the Servals.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

As I understand things, many of the legislative failures have surrounded the big cat people banding together and not segregating lions and tigers from smaller cats like the serval. It's a very bad line to draw in the sand with politicos that don't need to negotiate with you.

Agreed. I personally think the owners of Servals and other smaller wild cats do themselves a disservice by banding together with the large wild animals in terms of legislative issues.

I don't agree with the attitude of the Bengal breed folk that we need to separate our breed into SBT versus the earlier generations. I believe because the Serval is that much more social a wildcat we don't have issues with our earlier generations hence we do not need to distance ourselves. Our breed is way too young to cut itself off from those early generation breeding stock imho.

 

[admin]

Agreed. I personally think the owners of Servals and other smaller wild cats do themselves a disservice by banding together with the large wild animals in terms of legislative issues.

I don't agree with the attitude of the Bengal breed folk that we need to separate our breed into SBT versus the earlier generations. I believe because the Serval is that much more social a wildcat we don't have issues with our earlier generations hence we do not need to distance ourselves. Our breed is way too young to cut itself off from those early generation breeding stock imho.

I don't agree with it either, but I keep hearing it more and more...

 

[admin]

As I understand things, many of the legislative failures have surrounded the big cat people banding together and not segregating lions and tigers from smaller cats like the serval. It's a very bad line to draw in the sand with politicos that don't need to negotiate with you.

In some aspects yes and in others no...I mainly see it as a hybrid issue, since many states allow the F4 or F5 and later, but not the earlier gen cats because of savannah to savannah breeding...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

I don't agree with it either, but I keep hearing it more and more...

Only from some, and those sources that are loudest are not necessarily those I believe. The Bengal breed has distanced itself from its early generations for some time and it has not changed their legislative status in any way that I've seen. The only reason they are ok in TX is because the ALC is not on Texas' DWA list, but the Serval is...nothing to do with the SBT or not issue.

It most definitely is easier to argue when trying to get a ban partially reversed.. easier to argue the purebred domestic breed angle. But we saw in Ohio that one can successfully just argue the breed as a whole and have it work.

 

[John Popp]

It most definitely is easier to argue when trying to get a ban partially reversed.. easier to argue the purebred domestic breed angle. But we saw in Ohio that one can successfully just argue the breed as a whole and have it work.

And being from Ohio your efforts are much appreciated.

 

[Patti]

Only from some, and those sources that are loudest are not necessarily those I believe. The Bengal breed has distanced itself from its early generations for some time and it has not changed their legislative status in any way that I've seen. The only reason they are ok in TX is because the ALC is not on Texas' DWA list, but the Serval is...nothing to do with the SBT or not issue.

It most definitely is easier to argue when trying to get a ban partially reversed.. easier to argue the purebred domestic breed angle. But we saw in Ohio that one can successfully just argue the breed as a whole and have it work.

I totally agree Brigitte. One of those very people argued with me last year that the Bengal is legal in states like NY and CT because they are now 'totally domestic'. These people bury their heads in the sand and ignore reality, which is a disservice to their own breed and other hybrids.

 

[Patti]

As a matter of fact, I haven't seen a single piece of legislation that refers to SBT, only generation which could be A, B, C, or SBT.