Posted on 06/08/2026 4:59:39 AM PDT by Red Badger
Australian wildlife officers have busted a single breeder holding more than 100,000 banned live cockroaches, the largest grab of exotic invertebrates the nation has ever recorded.
Madagascar hissing cockroach
DUBIA
The operator, who ran a commercial outfit in Bathurst, New South Wales, had been raising more than 100,000 banned cockroaches, a stockpile officials valued at 200,000 Australian dollars ($142,000), according to The Associated Press. A government spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that prosecutors did not file any charges against the breeder. The insects will be destroyed.
What landed the breeder in regulators’ sights were two foreign species, the Madagascar hissing cockroach and the dubia, the AP reported. Neither can legally enter the country, and ownership, breeding and sale are off-limits no matter where the bugs came from. Authorities pin the prohibition on disease risk and the threat to local wildlife, noting the species never went through Australia’s environmental vetting.
Australian officials say they confiscated more than 100,000 illegal live cockroaches from a breeder in the country’s largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates. https://t.co/FZmUn2vXpo
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 5, 2026
That vetting sits inside a border regime Australia guards tightly to keep pests away from farms and native habitats, the AP reported. People who slip undeclared animals, insects or plant matter past inspectors risk fines reaching thousands of dollars, and the department says anyone holding the banned roaches could be prosecuted, a warning the Bathurst case did not deliver on.
The size of the Madagascar species explains some of the alarm, the AP reported. It runs 2 to 3 inches, ranking it among the planet’s largest roaches and towering over the local variety, which stops at roughly 1.4 inches.
Bulk like that is the selling point, Bathurst snake catcher Stefanie Lesser told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. She said the oversized bugs most likely fed the reptile market, where a bigger roach means a keeper buys fewer of them. Regulators countered with their own shopping advice, steering lizard owners toward crickets or wood roaches.
Native Australian animals evolved in isolation for tens of millions of years, which leaves them poorly equipped to fend off introduced predators and competitors, according to the Invasive Species Council. The group says foreign invaders have already driven at least 45 unique Australian species to extinction and now threaten 42% of those on the national threatened list.
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Why? The only thing that comes to mind is eco-terrorism.
How is this cache valued? What’s the market?
Probably to feed your illegal exotic pets.............
“the oversized bugs most likely fed the reptile market”
People who feed them to snakes?
I heard about some lady entering the US with a whole bunch of box turtles attached to her legs under her dress.
It was bad enough when people would swallow balloons full of cocaine. All these people that try to smuggle exotic animals, insects and other creatures really is dangerous to our and Australia’s environment. Look at how much money we are spending on pythons in the Everglades.
” Native Australian animals evolved in isolation for tens of millions of years, which leaves them poorly equipped to fend off introduced predators and competitors, “
And this is different from Madagascar, how?
It also reminds me of a story my daughter told me that when she was living in a basement apartment and was running late for work, she opened the door to leave and a cockroach followed by a centipede raced past her into her apartment.
She chased that thing all over her apartment before she finally killed it.
If I was into art and illustrating, I could create a comic titled The Adventures of Cockroach and Centipede .
Each place has it’s own set of predators and prey, evolved with each other to balance out their numbers..........
Gives me an idea for my latest get rich quick scheme - exporting cockroaches from Mississippi to Australia. Should be able to get premium prices for wild-caught water bugs instead of those farm raised versions currently on the market.
Oh, all of a sudden roaches are on their list?
Maybe they learned a thing of two about rabbits and toads I guess.
LOL! Ain’t it the truth?😂
I’m gonna send her the picture of that cockroach…..
The first thing that came to my mind was this. Look at the size, what a good-sized meal for the peasants.
So the old adage is true:
When cockroaches are outlawed, only outlaws will have cockroaches.
😁😂🤣😅😆............................
Zackly. I thought every creature in Australia had a way to kill you. And even if it didn’t, it was going to try its best anyway.
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