London hosts an international conference on the protection of the African elephant and rhinoceros

On this day in history, and international conference was held to implement legislation to protect the African elephant and rhinoceros. This is because due to their prized ivory tusks and horns, which were valuable trade commodities, African elephant and rhinoceros populations were on the decline. Although specific information about this particular conference is difficult to find, records show three years earlier the "Convention Relative to the Preservation of Fauna and Flora in their Natural State (1933)" was put forward. This convention promulgated the protection of certain animal species, which included the African Elephant (Elephas africanus Blumenbach); the White Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros simus Burchell) and the Black Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros bicornis Linnaeus). Governments all over the world agreed to the terms of this convention, including the Union of South Africa, Belgium, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Egypt, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. This convention was put into force on 14 January 1936, the same year that the conference was held in London.