Australia seizes 100,000 cockroaches in bug-breeder bust / Photo: © Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water/AFP
-
Barco joins Chelsea rebuild from Strasbourg
-
Wimbledon champ Noskova ready for 'new opportunity'
-
Commonwealth Games faces uncertain future ahead of centenary edition
-
Japan's Kuwaki wins women's British Open to clinch first major title
-
Moroccans gather at Ceuta border, desperate for news of loved ones
-
Sabalenka aims to bounce back in Toronto after Wimbledon disappointment
-
Finucane seals fourth cycling gold on final day of Commonwealth Games
-
Iran says close to Hormuz deal with Oman, after US suspends attack plan
-
At Nepal school, outpouring of grief for climber Nirmal Purja
-
'Spider-Man' soars to huge $355 million opening in North America
-
Tourists slowly return to French bay opposite huge wildfire
-
Handbag tosses and high-heeled sprints: Amsterdam celebrates Drag Olympics
-
Helicopter crew killed in Greece fires
-
Trump's on-again-off-again war against Iran: in his own words
-
Wiebes takes dominant second win at Tour de France Femmes
-
Dodgers land Tigers pitching ace Skubal in MLB trade deadline blockbuster
-
Suicide attack kills 13 during protest in northern Pakistan: police
-
Infantino struggling to survive, says former IOC marketing chief
-
Helicopters collide in Greece as fires spread
-
OPEC+ boosts September production by 188,000 barrels/day
-
Power returns to Cuba's west after grid failure
-
Rescuers recover climber Nirmal Purja's body after avalanche disaster
-
At least 72 died in Spain's Ceuta migrant rush
-
Fire toll mounts in Greece as blazes spread
-
South Korea records its highest-ever temperature of 42.5C
-
Sri Lanka deploys troops after prison riot
-
Trump says US, Israel to hold off on Iran strikes
-
Baltics transform from Soviet stagnation to startup hubs
-
Messi returns as Inter Miami draw 2-2 against Columbus Crew
-
AI keeps consumer prices high in 'RAMaggedon' chip crunch
-
Five of Cuba's 15 provinces without power as grid fails again
-
Dressel, Walsh win 50m free titles at US Swimming Championships
-
Baltic startups take aim at deterring Russia on NATO's eastern flank
-
OPEC+ tipped to raise production again but new quotas loom
-
Tourists chase high-octane thrill in China's trending biker capital
-
De Zerbi unsure over Richarlison's future at Spurs
-
Vincent Pastore, who played 'Big Pussy' on 'The Sopranos,' dead at 80
-
Tottenham manager De Zerbi 'happy' with pre-season progress
-
Lula, Brazil's political titan, races against time
-
Brazil's Lula launches fourth term bid as Trump looms over campaign
-
When rogue AI launches a cyberattack, who is legally responsible?
-
Alonso welcomes Mudryk's Chelsea return after doping ban
-
Venezuela transition talks to start in person next week: govt
-
'Damn hot': Last summer for Japan cosplay extravaganza
-
Colombia truck bomb wounds 14 ahead of presidential inauguration
-
Auger-Aliassime playing for hometown pride at Montreal Masters
-
Eala stuns Osaka to book Washington final against Pegula
-
Commonwealth Games poster boy Kerr delivers mile gold in Glasgow
-
13 dead after small tourist plane crashes in Peru
-
Pegula defeats Shnaider to reach Washington Open final
Australia seizes 100,000 cockroaches in bug-breeder bust
Wildlife officers have busted an illegal cockroach-breeding operation in rural Australia, seizing a skin-crawling haul worth more than $100,000 on the black market for exotic bugs.
More than 100,000 contraband cockroaches were found in a raid on a commercial breeder in the town of Bathurst, west of Sydney, Australia's environment department said on Friday.
They found Madagascar "hissing" cockroaches, a bulky insect named for its noisy defence mechanism, and dubia cockroaches, an invasive critter bred as a snack for pet lizards.
Photos showed one of the seized Madagascar cockroaches was almost big enough to completely cover the palm of an adult hand.
"We take our job protecting Australia's unique biodiversity and breaches of national environment law very seriously," an environment department spokesman said.
"We're seeing illegal breeding and trading of exotic cockroaches and we're putting pet businesses and pet owners on notice."
The department said the illicit insects had an estimated value of US$140,000 (Aus$200,000).
Officials now have the unenviable task of euthanising the creepy-crawlies, an insect so hardy it spawned an urban legend they could survive a nuclear blast.
M.Ouellet--BTB
