Charity through bird racing is Dead Squad’s mission

Bird Racing, for some, is a recreational activity that has grown quite popular amongst Guyanese. The hobby has become quite the common practice locally, and contrary to what the name suggests, a bird does not need to leave its cage to participate.

The opposing birds are usually placed together and are left to chirp, the first bird to complete 50 chirps or any other stipulated number, is the winner. The hobby requires two judges or count men and overseers can be present to ensure the counting is correct.
A local group of Business men, Dead Squad, are ready to take their birding hobby to the next level, with organized bird racing tournaments.
Looking to keep the activity batting-free, Dead Squad member Ryan Boodhoo shared his passion for the bobby.

“Birds are very fun-loving pets; they actually take a lot of spare time that you may have. My birds actually show my personality, it actually takes me away from bad environments,” he explained.
Boodhoo added, “The chirping sound that these birds make in the morning, its refreshing, it’s beautiful. That is what I really and truly enjoy.”
Turning his attention to the sport, Boodhoo elaborated, “Bird racing is an opportunity for these birds to showcase their talent against each other, just like any other sport, where the individual athletes would go out and exhibit their talent against each other and see who would be more successful. Birds actually do the same thing.”
“So, what we do, we put them in a competition frame of mind, prepare them and stuff over a period of time.”
The bird-racing enthusiast went on to add, “Through birds, I have met people of all different caliber. I’ve met a doctor that has birds as pets, I’ve met veterinarians, I’ve met attorneys, machine operators, I’ve met people in all different capacity. And, when networking, meeting greeting and being around these people, I’ve somewhat learned a lot from them as well.”
Dead Squad’s first tournament, will be a seven-race event, scheduled for Fathers’ Day on June 19, 2022. The group has set their mind to change some aspects of the activity, in order to let their pet’s shine.
“Normally, we would have had cameramen in the 15feet ring, we’re telling them this time, we want you outside, we want to see the talent of the bird. Instead of distracting the bird with too much people, or too much cameras or whatever in the ring,” he stated, elucidating his team’s plans for the event.
“So, we’re going to have them out of the ring, but the count men and observers will be in the ring, that will be six persons only. So, the bird actually gets the opportunity to exhibit their real talent, instead of any trickery or anything.”
Given the common misconception about the practice, Boodhoo keenly added, “Mind you, these competitions are not a gambling event, its where these birds come to showcase their talent in a friendly environment.”
While Bird racing is done purely out of the love of birds, Dead Squad has other plans in mind. As such, the group has chosen a beneficiary for a charitable venture.
Boodhoo explained, “We’re hoping to have some funds left back and there’s an individual that we know. We have a team captain, he knows an individual that is injured, he’s a contractor or carpenter, he’s currently paralyzed, I think.”
“So, we’re hoping that whatever we could accumulate from this, we’re going to reach out to them and we’re going to hand over the difference,” he concluded.
The Dead Squad team is made up of approximately 10 persons.