{"id":1649,"date":"2026-06-09T16:39:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1649"},"modified":"2026-06-09T16:39:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:39:29","slug":"australian-cockroach-kingpin-caught-with-100000-illegal-insects-in-record-bug-bust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1649","title":{"rendered":"Australian cockroach kingpin caught with 100,000 illegal insects in record bug bust"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>WELLINGTON, New Zealand\u00a0 \u2014 More than 100,000 live cockroaches illegal to keep in Australia were confiscated from a single breeder in the country\u2019s largest-ever seizure of exotic invertebrates, officials said Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1647\">An acclaimed Oakland chef talks about his Afro-Latino craft cocktail cookbook<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The haul of Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dubia cockroaches, worth 200,000 Australian dollars ($142,000), was seized in May from a commercial breeder in the city of Bathurst in New South Wales state, according to Australia\u2019s Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: Bay Area woman seeing lots of cockroaches; she\u2019s not alone<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Madagascar hissing species is one of the world\u2019s biggest cockroaches, measuring 2 to 3 inches (5 to 8 centimeters) in length. Photos released by the department showed a shiny, brown invertebrate larger than a person\u2019s finger.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s much bigger than the country\u2019s common Australian cockroach, which measures between 0.9 and 1.4 inches (2.3 and 3.6 centimeters) long. Cockroaches flourish in Australia due to its sub-tropical climates and the country is home to hundreds of species.<\/p>\n<p>Bathurst snake catcher Stefanie Lesser told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the larger exotic species were likely being sold as as a cost-effective reptile food because their large size meant fewer insects were needed. Officials urged pet owners to seek out crickets or wood roaches to feed their lizards instead.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1637\">Ariana Grande secretly ended once-scandalous romance with Ethan Slater months ago: report<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Both Madagascar hissing and dubia cockroaches are illegal to import into Australia. They can\u2019t be legally kept, bred or sold no matter how they were obtained, the department said in a statement.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Australia has strict biosecurity controls at its borders to protect its agriculture and horticulture sectors and native wildlife from pest infestations. Those smuggling in undeclared or illegal animal, insect or plant material can be fined thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Exotic cockroaches \u201chave not been subject to an environmental risk assessment\u201d and they could spread disease or harm native wildlife, the statement said. Officials warned of prosecutions against those caught with the invertebrates.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson said charges weren\u2019t laid against the Bathurst breeder. The cockroaches seized would be euthanized, the department said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1635\">Logan Webb looks like an ace again for SF Giants<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australia has strict biosecurity controls at its borders to protect its agriculture and horticulture sectors and native wildlife from pest infestations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Australian cockroach kingpin caught with 100,000 illegal insects in record bug bust - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1649\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australian cockroach kingpin caught with 100,000 illegal insects in record bug bust - 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