If foxes are removed from an area by trapping they cannot be released in another area, as this is an illegal action under the terms of wildlife legislation (Wildlife and countryside Act and Protection of Mammals Act). Boroughs that have had a trapping and destruction policy have not seen the number of foxes reduced, each dead fox was seen to cost one local Council £1500.00 per fox. Studies show that the destruction of foxes achieves nothing. The use of poisons and any trap other than a cage trap is illegal.

Foxes seem to regulate their own population by means of a ranking among the vixens and the lower ranking females do not become fertile during the breeding season. Even if it was possible to remove foxes, the territory they had marked would fall vacant and it is not be long before another fox moves in to it. A study has shown that if a car kills a fox is killed on the road, another fox fills its territory within a two-week period.

Foxes are creatures of habit and have routines and regular routes. The use of deterrents is a way to break these routes and routines. If a territory is unsuitable, they are less likely to stay and the territory will not suit another fox either.

Gardens often have a certain attraction for foxes such as the use of fish, bone meal or blood fertilisers within flowerbeds. What foxes are doing is using their sense of smell to hunt for prey. Other attractions are often ponds for drinking during the summer months, heavy undergrowth, food left out for birds, sheds, soft soil and often dead buried pets. It has been found that even small changes can make a fox re-route. However, one should remember that foxes often get the blame for damage caused by squirrels and cats.