Dr Carmel works in a small animal practice in the northeast suburbs of Melbourne where over 90% of the caseload are unusual pets. He is the co-founder and current president of the Unusual and Exotic Pet Veterinarians special interest group of the AVA; the President of the Unusual Pets Chapter of the The Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists, and a founding member of both the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians and the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians. Brendan is the veterinary consultant to the Melbourne Museum, lecturer in wildlife and unusual and exotic pet medicine at the University of Melbourne. Brendan was awarded the 2015 Oxbow Exotic Mammal Health Award for excellence and innovation in the filed of exotic mammal heath - the first person from the Southern Hemisphere to win this award.