SA National Parks says 52 rhino have been poached in South Africa so far this year.
The hardest hit areas continue to be the Kruger National Park and Limpopo province with 26 and 13 rhinos poached there respectively.
SANParks CEO David Mabunda says the high number of rhino killings is worrying, but that the 30 arrests made so far and the steeper sentences imposed on convicted criminals, are encouraging.
Meanwhile, five rhino poaching suspects will appear in the Brits Magistrate's Court today.
North West police spokesperson, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane, says the men, aged between 43 and 59, were arrested yesterday as part of an ongoing investigation.
Ngubane was reluctant to even say where they were arrested, because it might compromise future operations against poachers.
