The British UFO Research Association or BUFORA is a UK organisation formerly registered as "BUFORA Ltd"; dedicated to investigating UFO phenomenon

Unidentified flying object

A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...

 in the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

. The organisation has around 1,000 members.

History

In 1991 the book UFO Encyclopedia was compiled especially for the group by Major Sir Patrick Wall

Patrick Wall

Major Sir Patrick Henry Bligh Wall KBE , MC, VRD was a British senior commando in the Royal Marines during World War II and later a Conservative politician. He was Member of Parliament for Haltemprice, East Yorkshire and subsequently for Beverley...

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Current Status

BUFORA investigates over 400 cases a year, with the organisation reporting 95% of them as hoaxes. They also run witness support groups for those who believe they have encountered extra terrestrials. The organisation has held an annual conference at Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University

Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...

 since 1987 and regularly hold meetings across the country; with Rendlesham Forest

Rendlesham Forest

Rendlesham Forest is a 1500-hectare mixed woodland in Suffolk owned by the Forestry Commission with recreation facilities for walkers, cyclists and campers. Catering to enthusiasts of the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident, there is a special UFO trail....

 being a frequent spot for gatherings. They have been outspoken critics of the UK government's Freedom of Information Act as it relates to UFOs.

Controversy

An entry in the UFO Encyclopedia, which was a sighting confirmed as genuine by BUFORA, was later found to be a hoax. The supposed contactee, who claimed to have seen a UFO hovering over the town of Warminster

Warminster

Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...

, admitted to the hoax in 1994. In 1995 the group were the only official UFO organisation to endorse a film, purportedly by the US government, showing an alien

Extraterrestrial life

Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...

 autopsy

Autopsy

An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...

 at Roswell

Roswell UFO incident

The Roswell UFO Incident was the recovery of an object that crashed in the general vicinity of Roswell, New Mexico, in June or July 1947, allegedly an extra-terrestrial spacecraft and its alien occupants. Since the late 1970s the incident has been the subject of intense controversy and of...

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