US urged to ‘make haggis legal again’ ahead of World Cup

One of Scotland’s leading butchers has launched a campaign for the US to legalise haggis, as the Tartan Army prepares to head across the Atlantic for the World Cup.

Federal food regulations relating to the consumption of offal mean haggis has effectively been banned in the US since 1971, leaving Scottish producers with no way of exporting it.

Simon Howie Butchers, based in Perthshire, is launching a petition to “make haggis legal again”.

There will also be a campaign fronted by Scottish broadcaster and journalist Gordon Smart.

Flags reading “no haggis, no party” are being supplied to football fans heading to the US.

Simon Howie said: “Scotland football fans are widely recognised as the best in the world, and they are about to make the trip of a lifetime, but they’ll be doing it without access to their national dish.

“With such warmth and long-standing affinity between Americans and Scots, we’re appealing to the USA to embrace this delicious delicacy and ‘make haggis legal again’.”

Smart said: “For Scotland fans, summer 2026 is going to be a trip we’ll never forget. We’ll have the flags, the songs and the scarves, and if this petition has anything to do with it, we’ll have the haggis too.

“Simon Howie is fighting for every Scot and honorary Scot out there, so let’s get behind the campaign and make history on and off the pitch.

“Because after all, if there’s no haggis, there’s no party.”

The traditional Scottish dish has been prohibited by the US since 1971 as it contains sheep lungs.

The US embassy in London has been approached for comment.