Believers turn into sceptics after conference

03.10.2007

By MATTHEW MARTIN

EVEN the true believers at a UFO conference in Rotorua were sceptical after a keynote speaker's presentation.

Delegates at the UFOCUS New Zealand conference were less than impressed with American podiatrist Dr Roger Leir, who claims to have surgically removed alien implants from humans.

Conference organisers are defending him, saying he is "highly credible", but delegates told the Daily Post they were not convinced by his presentation.

It included video footage showing the supposed removal of an implant from a subject's toe.

When the video reached the point where the implant was being removed, the camera zoomed in and out and the video faded to black.

One delegate said Dr Leir's information was overly technical and his video finished before any details could be seen, leaving him questioning the doctor's motives.

Dr Leir, who claims to have removed 13 extra-terrestrial implants from human subjects, also dodged media requests for interviews.

He initially agreed to be interviewed and photographed but later, through his agent, declined all interviews.

Conference organiser and UFOCUS New Zealand co-ordinator Suzanne Hansen, from Tauranga, said Dr Leir was highly credible and had tailored his speech for a sceptical New Zealand audience.

Mrs Hansen said she could be partly blamed for Dr Leir's highly analytical presentation.

"I told him that New Zealand audiences were highly sceptical and he dropped a lot of his video footage in favour of a more scientific presentation.

"It's a shame people did not get to see a lot of the excellent footage that I have seen."

Dr Leir's travel expenses were covered by UFOCUS New Zealand but she said he had not asked for a speaker's fee "or perks of any kind".

Mrs Hansen declined to comment about media disruptions at the conference although the Daily Post witnessed a film crew being removed from the Rotorua Convention Centre on Saturday. A Daily Post photographer was also told to leave.

Mrs Hansen said overall feedback from the conference was extremely positive.

Dr Leir is the author of four books on alien implants and abductions and is raising funds for a feature-length movie entitled Earth's Original Sin, based on his alien abduction research.

He said his last implant surgery took place in September last year.

In his presentation Dr Leir likened sceptics to psychics.

"They [sceptics] must be psychics because they come to conclusions before looking at any of the evidence."