Thank you Ghdp - that's great.
Some perceptive comments Min. We used to live in Edinburgh too, eons ago - the vixens would walk up and down the middle of the street screaming alarmingly for a mate. Sounded like someone was being murdered. They would have standoffs with our cats, and hedgehogs would keep them away from their feeding bowls by sitting in them. We wouldn't have dreamed of feeding the foxes, but they came off the golf course into our garden.
Rats are really intelligent, but sadly they have to go but by the most humane method possible. But people don't like their tails, whereas foxes look very cute and appealing, with big fluffy brushes. Mmmm! I do see your point about people in cities being starved of wildlife, so they love to 'tame' foxes and badgers to come into their gardens, seagulls too. That's all fine but why are these poor foxes then dumped out into the countryside. In fact I'm wondering if those who feed foxes might actually be our allies, as they can appreciate the cruelty of taking their pets and dumping them where they will inevitably die, by one method or another.
So is it worth looking further into the pest control companies, or are they even less likely to admit to dumping?