Poachers kill 54 rhinos in South Africa so far this year

Feb 15, 2012, 8:33 GMT

Johannesburg - At least 54 rhinos have been killed in South Africa so far this year, according to figures released Wednesday by police.

Police also announced that five suspected poachers had been arrested, after what was believed to be a shoot-out with officers. A .458-calibre rifle and 14 rounds of ammunition were also seized from the suspects.

This brings to 35 the total number of poaching-related arrests this year.

'It is worrying that we are still losing such a high number of rhinos throughout the country,' said David Mabunda, the head of SANParks, the country's National Parks Authority, in a statement.

'The difficulty is pinning a suspected criminal to the actual crime because we are dealing with very wily and sophisticated individuals,' Mabunda said, but added that the increasing number of arrests was 'encouraging.'

Last year, at least 448 rhinos were poached in South Africa, which is home to the largest population of the animals in the world. This was an increase from 2010, when 333 were killed.

Rhinos are mostly being killed by criminal syndicates to meet a growing demand in Asia for the animal's horn, which some people believe has medicinal purposes.