Why it makes sense to burn ivory stockpiles

On 30 April Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta will set fire to 105 to tonnes of ivory in Nairobi National Park. This article explains why it's the right thing to do

By burning almost its entire ivory stockpile, Kenya is sending out the message that it will never benefit from illegal ivory captured from poachers or seized in transit. However, as the day of the burn approaches, commentators and experts have been lining up to condemn it. Some of the objections put forward are based on wrong assumptions; some deserve serious consideration.

Here I summarise four of the most frequent arguments being made against the burn and explain why, in my view, they are wrong.