ABSTRACT
This chapter explores important contributions by examining illegal wildlife trade (IWT) utilising 'the Allee effect' and 'treadmill of production theory'. Therefore, it is worth exploring each of these theories in more detail to ask how supply and demand networks of illegal wildlife trade are facilitated by global markets and world trade. The IWT is a global 'industry' that causes extensive ecological destruction and irreplaceable loss to biodiversity. The demand for wildlife and wildlife products is greatest in developed countries in the Northern Hemisphere, while supply emanates from less developed countries in the South. Australia continues to play a leading role in the international effort to prevent the illegal trade in endangered wildlife. The treadmill of production and sale underpins the ongoing lucrative nature of the global IWT industry here the most endangered species return the greatest profits for criminal enterprises.
