He said: “Sadly we have now made the incredibly difficult decision to find our colony of bats new homes.
“We have weighed up the benefits of repairing the tunnel against creating a new exhibit which is the better option.”
He said the focus was to always ensure the best welfare for its animals and finding new homes for the once critically endangered species of bats would take many months.
In April keepers had to move 70 bats in one day into smaller groups across the site following an outbreak of Pasteurella in the colony.
“Thanks to the swift action and dedication of our team we were able to minimise the loss we faced when the colony sadly got infected but this could have been a different story,” Mr Matthews said.
“Since April the bats have been living in temporary accommodation… the Pasteurella is contained and we’ve now welcomed several new bat pups.”
Dave Houston, associate veterinary officer at the zoo, said following the outbreak they had developed a world-first vaccine for the use of fruit bats.