Worth USD 142,000, over 100,000 ‘illegal cockroaches’ seized in Australia

2 min readJun 6, 2026 01:59 PM IST

Both these species are illegal to import into Australia. (AP)

When people think of exotic animals being smuggled or illegally bred, reptiles, birds and big cats usually come to mind. Cockroaches rarely make that list. Yet Australian authorities recently seized more than 100,000 live cockroaches from a single breeder in what the Associated Press described as the country’s largest-ever confiscation of exotic invertebrates.

The two species, Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dubia cockroaches, are much bigger than the common Australian cockroach, which measures between 0.9 and 1.4 inches (2.3 and 3.6 centimetres) long. Both these species are illegal to import into Australia. They cannot be legally kept, bred or sold, no matter how they were obtained, the department said in a statement.

The two species are worth 200,000 Australian dollars ($142,000).

They were seized from a commercial breeder in the city of Bathurst in New South Wales state, according to Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.

Madagascar hissing cockroach is one of the largest cockroach species in the world, measuring 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) in length.

As per AP, the larger exotic species were likely being sold as cost-effective reptile food because their large size meant fewer insects were needed, Bathurst snake catcher Stefanie Lesser told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

A spokesperson said charges were not laid against the Bathurst breeder. The cockroaches seized would be euthanized, the department said.

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