More than 100,000 illegal cockroaches were seized from an Australian breeder
AP News • • world
Key Points:
- Australian authorities confiscated over 100,000 illegal exotic cockroaches, including Madagascar hissing and dubia species, from a commercial breeder in Bathurst, New South Wales, marking the country’s largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates.
- The Madagascar hissing cockroach, one of the largest cockroach species globally, was likely bred for reptile food due to its large size, which reduces the number of insects needed for feeding.
- Both species are illegal to import, keep, breed, or sell in Australia under strict biosecurity laws aimed at protecting native wildlife, agriculture, and horticulture from potential pest infestations and disease risks.
- Authorities have warned of prosecutions for possession of these illegal insects, though no charges were filed against the Bathurst breeder; the seized cockroaches are set to be euthanized.