Bannister, MI - State investigators have filed dozens of charges against the owner and the operator of a Saginaw County game ranch, accusing them of cruelty to animals and illegally importing elk.

Scott Turner, 45, operator of Michigan Trophy Hunts, was arraigned Wednesday in district court on 54 counts. Also charged was his 74-year old mother, Janet Turner, who owns the ranch.

The charges follow a yearlong investigation by the state departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture.

DNR spokeswoman Mary Detloff said elk were smuggled into the ranch after Michigan’s borders were closed to out-of-state elk and deer in April 2002. The ban was imposed to keep chronic wasting disease out of Michigan.