- Australian authorities seized more than 100,000 exotic cockroaches from a breeder in New South Wales.
- The confiscated insects include Madagascar hissing cockroaches, endemic to the island country of Madagascar, and dubia roaches, which are popular both as reptile food and collected as pets.
- Importing exotic insects is illegal in Australia, as they can become invasive or carry disease, and they cannot be legally kept, bred or sold.
- The seizure highlights the unregulated but growing trade in invertebrates across the world, especially as food for increasingly popular reptile pets.
On June 5, Australian authorities announced that they confiscated more than 100,000 live exotic cockroaches from an unnamed commercial breeder in Bathurst, a town in New South Wales (NSW), about 200 kilometers (124 miles) west of Sydney. It was the largest bust of illegal invertebrates ever made in the country.
The insects were estimated to be worth about AU$200,000 (about $140,000 at current exchange rates). They included dubia cockroaches (Blaptica dubia), endemic to South America, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) found only in the island nation of Madagascar. They were bred to be sold as food for pet reptiles, authorities said. Hissing cockroaches are also sought after as pets since they don’t have wings and can’t fly away.
No one has been charged with a crime, according to a statement by an environment agency spokesperson.
Australia has strict biosecurity laws, permitting live import of only certain animal species; controls are needed to effectively protect crops, plants and native wildlife. The legally-imported list excludes exotic insects like cockroaches that can become invasive or spread diseases
“We’re seeing illegal breeding and trading of exotic cockroaches, and we’re putting pet businesses and pet owners on notice,” a spokesperson from the federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, the agency responsible for environmental protection, said in a press release. “If you are found to possess, breed or trade exotic cockroaches such as dubia cockroaches and Madagascar hissing cockroaches, they will be seized and you could face penalties under federal law.” Officials have decided to euthanize and dispose of the seized insects.
The agency urges reptile owners in the country to switch to legally approved alternatives to feed their pets, such as crickets and wood roaches.
Cockroaches can become invasive, experts warn
Cockroaches may give some of us “the ick,” but they are hardy insects that have roamed the planet for more than 300 million years and survived several mass extinctions. With more than 3,500 species, they are found on every continent except Antarctica.
As detritivores, these critters feed on dead and decaying organic matter, including food waste in our houses. The Madagascar hissing cockroach gets its name from the sibilating sound males produce during mating or fighting; both males and females hiss when handled or threatened by a potential predator. This insect plays a vital role in recycling nutrients in rainforests.
The Madagascar cockroach isn’t invasive, but some species, such as the German cockroach (Blattella germanica), are notoriously so. Native to South Asia, it’s one of the world’s most successful species. It was introduced into Europe during the 18th century and quickly spread across the globe through maritime trade. The largest of the house-invading roaches, the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), despite its name, originated in Africa and the Middle East, and arrived in North America in the 1600s. Like the German cockroach, it now inhabits six continents.
“Insects that are well known to be resilient and prolific, like ants or cockroaches, pose a huge invasive species threat,” said wildlife trade researcher Chris Shepherd from the U.S.-based Center for Biological Diversity. “Australia is already spending millions in trying to eradicate non-native species that are destroying its wild places and have already caused so many extinctions…This is the last thing they need.”
The soaring trade in invertebrates — with more than 4,000 species bought and sold worldwide — is worrying conservationists. International commerce in about 100 of them is regulated under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty.
“Invertebrates are very good at escaping, and can carry parasites as well as pathogens, which pose a threat to native species,” said Alice Hughes from the University of Melbourne, who has studied wildlife commerce. “Invertebrate trade is massively overlooked, challenging to monitor, and yet poses a major threat to diversity…This recent seizure is the reminder of a problem that is consistently under-estimated and overlooked, and one where we need to do much better.”
In a recent letter, Shepherd and his colleague Sérgio Henriques urged countries to protect ants and regulate international trade after Kenyan authorities confiscated more than 5,000 harvester ants and arrested four traffickers in two separate incidents: two individuals from Belgium, one from Vietnam and another from Kenya.
These seizures, along with the cockroach confiscations in Australia, highlight the extent of demand for invertebrates, which is largely driven by a thriving reptile trade. Globally, one in three reptile species are for sale. Many of them eat live insects. As more people bring home geckos, snakes, lizards and other reptile pets, there’s a greater market for insects to feed them.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches and dubia roaches are widely sold online in the U.S., where 4.9 million homes have at least one reptile, and the trade is unregulated. Meanwhile, because of their size and resilience, they can be easily mailed around the world undetected.
“Not only is a lot of reptile trade illegal and unsustainable, but it comes with baggage like live food, which can become invasive,” Shepherd said. “Countries that have a large reptile trade should be vigilant for trade in animals like cockroaches that are part of the reptile trade.”
Banner image: Madagascar hissing cockroaches are endemic only to the island nation of Madagascar. Image by liz west via Flickr (CC BY 2.0).
Spoorthy Raman is a staff writer at Mongabay, covering all things wild with a special focus on lesser-known wildlife, the wildlife trade, and environmental crime.
Kenya arrests 4 suspected ant traffickers, seizes 5,300 harvester ants
Citations:
Lassaline, C. R., Toomes, A., Fagan-Jeffries, E., & Cassey, P. (2025). From forest floor to market door: The global terrestrial invertebrate trade. Biological Conservation, 308, 111266. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111266
Marshall, B. M., Strine, C., & Hughes, A. C. (2020). Thousands of reptile species threatened by under-regulated global trade. Nature Communications, 11(1), 4738. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18523-4
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Cite this article
Spoorthy Raman (2026). Australian authorities seize 100,000 live cockroaches in crackdown on exotic insect trade. Mongabay Conservation news. DOI: https://doi.org/10.66709/news-321200Credits
