PARIS, Jan 11 (Reuters) - France's agriculture ministry raised the level of risk for bird flu to moderate from low on Friday after Britain discovered the deadly H5N1 strain in three wild swans.

France, Europe's biggest poultry producer, last adjusted its risk levels for birdflu on Oct. 12 after no new cases of the H5N1 virus were detected in wild birds in the country for an extended period.

As a result of the ministry's latest move, birds and poultry in high priority zones have to be locked up to avoid contact with wild birds. It is also prohibited to use birds for hunting.

The French government raised its risk alert to "high" after some wild swans infected with the highly pathogenic virus were found dead in northeast France in July 2007.

Britain warned poultry owners on Thursday to protect their flocks and is taking steps to ensure that poultry cannot be moved within the EU's usual control area unless the birds were being transported directly to slaughterhouses. (Reporting by Tamora Vidaillet; editing by Chris Johnson)

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