In the United States, they have been banned in Florida since 2002, Arizona since 2006, and California since late 2008. A Rhode Island law banning the crates, passed in June 2012, takes effect in June 2013.They are also being phased out in Maine and Oregon.Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the United States, said in January 2007 that it will phase out gestation crates from its 187 piggeries over the next ten years, because of concerns from its customers. In 2009 the company stated it would no longer be able to phase them out in 10 years due to recent low sales, but reversed the decision in 2011 after intense pressure from the Humane Society of the United States.
In February 2012 McDonalds announced that it would begin working with suppliers to phase out the