A stockpile of more than 100 tonnes of ivory from some 8,000 animals was set alight near Nairobi on Saturday, to highlight the threat to endangered species.

The stockpile of elephant tusks and rhino horns in a game reserve near Kenya’s capital would have been worth an estimated 130 million euros to smugglers.

But the country’s president, who lit the fire, wanted to send a message that trade in ivory – which poses an increasing risk to the species – must be stopped.

“Poaching and trafficking wildlife is now a branch of international crime. The fight against it will be won by alliances across nations and continents. The first step must be closer cooperation, especially among the states that hold Africa’s remaining elephant herds,” Uhuru Kenyatta said.

Commercial trade in African elephant ivory was banned in 1989, but conservationists say one-off sales that have since been permitted have revived demand.

Kenya is seeking a total world ban on ivory sales when the Convention on Int