A TARTAN Army fan has helped "make haggis legal" in a US state, showing yet another way Scotland fans are leaving their mark across the pond.
David McIntosh Jr, a Scottish podcaster and Tartan Army member, met with the governor of Massachusetts Maura Healey on Wednesday, in which she signed an "executive order" to make haggis legal.
The Scottish delicacy, which contains offall – the edible internal organs of a butchered animal – has been illegal in the US since the 1970s.
In a video posted on social media by McIntosh Jr from the State House in Boston, Healey can be seen signing the paper while a can of Irn Bru sits on the desk beside her.
The captions read: "We've made haggis legal in Massachusetts. [Un]official."
It is understood that the "executive order" is not real as individual states do not have the power to legalise haggis on their own, as food safety and import standards are governed at a federal level.
However, the joke has been praised by Scotland fans, with Simon Howie – a butcher who started a petition to make haggis legal in the US – writing: "Yes!!! Look what the army has achieved!!!"
Another fan wrote: "I have no idea what I'm witnessing but I like it".
And the official Irn Bru account said: "Could today get any better?"
This is not the first time the Tartan Army have had an impact on Boston lawmakers since the start of the World Cup.
Last week, a new law – which has been hailed as the "Tartan Army Bill" – was passed, allowing more than 140 bars and restaurants in Boston to stay open later and for fans to carry and drink alcohol along certain streets.
The law was passed by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, and gives cities and towns the power to let businesses stay open later, as well as establishing “open container zones” for streets with a large number of hospitality businesses.
Governor Healey hailed the bill, saying it "will provide more opportunities for people to celebrate with their community for the World Cup".
Why is haggis illegal in the US?
Haggis is illegal in the US because it contains sheep's lungs, which the US Department of Agriculture has banned for human consumption since 1971.
US federal food regulations say that lungs are unfit for human consumption as impure fluids could enter them during the slaughtering process.
While traditional haggis made in Scotland cannot be imported into the US, it is possible to buy and consume haggis in the US if it is made to a compliant recipe.
Manufacturers in the US can adjust their recipes by omitting the sheep's lung, such as by replacing it with extra sheep's heart or other legal offal.
