Meet the Team

Since 2016, Jayne has been the Senior Veterinarian for the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra providing gold standard veterinary medicine and surgery to the whole of the collection.

Jayne is also the founder and director of the Exotic Animal Veterinary Service with a goal to support other veterinarians in exotic animal care, consults for several small wildlife parks and provides expert witness knowledge for the RSPCA on an ongoing basis.

Jayne began her veterinary career as a student with a strong zoo keeping background (Mogo Zoo) and prior to graduating was instrumental in setting up a wildlife rehabilitation centre in Nepal. Upon graduation, Jayne started practice as a clinical veterinarian at the University of Sydney’s Avian, Reptile and Exotic Pet Hospital. 

Jayne later travelled to Malawi, Africa as the veterinarian for Lilongwe Wildlife Sanctuary before returning to Australia as the director of the Unusual and Exotic Animal Service at the Animal Referral Hospital (ARH) in Sydney. In this role, Jayne not only provided veterinary care for pet birds, reptile and pocket pets but also began consulting for several small wildlife parks, providing expert witness knowledge for the RSPCA and providing continuing education to other veterinarians.

In 2015, Jayne successfully attained the Advanced Veterinary Practice Certificate in Zoological Medicine from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and Edinburgh University and in 2017 became a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Science in Avian Medicine and Surgery.

Jayne has an extensive knowledge of all exotic pets and zoo animals. This combined with a passion not only for the health and welfare of animals but for knowledge support and sharing within the veterinary profession drove the establishment of the Exotic Animal Veterinary Service.

Jo is currently a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student at the University of Melbourne and shares her time between Melbourne and Canberra where she is a visitor experience guide at the National Zoo and Aquarium. 

In her spare time Jo provides administrative support for the Exotic Animal Veterinary Service and nursing support at the National Zoo and Aquariuam veterinary clinic. 

Jo completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Canberra in 2011 and worked in vegetation management before realising she enjoyed spending time with animals more than plants and subsequently travelled to southern Africa for 6 months in 2014 as a conservation volunteer.

In 2015, Jo again travelled to Namibia as a Wildlife and Research Coordinator at Naankuse Wildlife Rehabilitation and Research Centre working in captive animal management and human-wildlife conflict research. 

In 2018, Jo returned to Australia to complete her veterinary qualitifcations and is due to graduate in 2022. She has a passion for wildlife health and conservation research and hopes to build a career in conservation medicine.