Growing up in a small farming community in the West country foxes were rarely seen and only a problem when they attacked our chickens - and were then dealt with. A Fox seen in the daytime was a very unusual sight indeed.
The problem with urban foxes is that they have grown bolder than their rural cousins and plentiful on the food bonanza cities offer them. In the 40 years I have lived in London I have watched their numbers increase and their behaviour become very atypical. They are a successful scavenger and it seems to me that the rise in numbers is linked to the rise in fast food the discarded remains of which are easy pickings for them. Control seems now to rely on the car and lorry which polishes off a fair number but limiting the food supply would be a better method.
I was of course joking about urban Fox hunting although I can see readily see Boris in his hunting gear charging down leafy suburban streets after the little red blighter.....not a good image.