Meet Dr Coetzee de Beer

Dr Coetzee qualified with a BVSc (Hons) from the University of Queensland. His professional experience includes working at The Unusual Pet Vets in Perth, a practice dedicated to avian and exotic patients.

In 2018, he gained membership of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists through examinations in Avian Health. In 2019, the South African Veterinary Association recognised his contribution to the profession with its Young Veterinarian of the Year Award.

His work at CARE brings that background to the assessment and treatment of patients with a wide range of species-specific needs.

Curiosity is a consistent thread in Dr Coetzee’s work.

He is interested in the questions behind a clinical problem: what might explain a change, whether the findings support the initial assessment and what further information could influence a decision.

That interest continues beyond the consulting room. Difficult cases often prompt further reading and reflection. He revisits the evidence, questions his own decisions and considers whether another explanation or approach deserves attention.

For him, continued learning includes being willing to reconsider a position when new evidence challenges it. An established approach should have a sound clinical basis, and a new approach deserves the same careful examination.

Dr Coetzee places a high value on advice that can be explained and supported. His recommendations are guided by the available evidence, the circumstances of the individual patient and the animal’s welfare.

He believes owners deserve to understand what is known, what remains uncertain and why a particular course of care is being proposed. This includes honest discussions about the available options and the limitations of treatment.

He also recognises that clinical reasoning needs to be communicated with care. Questions, concerns and the practical realities of caring for an animal at home are an important part of that conversation.

The responsibility he feels towards his patients is reflected in the attention he gives their cases, his willingness to review his thinking and his commitment to helping owners understand the decisions being made.

Dr Coetzee’s interest in veterinary medicine also extends to professional writing. He authored Exotic Animal Practice in Africa, published in Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice in 2024.

Through CARE Notes, he shares practical explanations of the questions and observations that arise in avian and exotic animal care. These articles give him a way to make more of that knowledge available to owners beyond an individual consultation.

His aim is to help people understand their animals more closely, recognise useful information and feel better prepared to discuss their care.