Skinning

Skinning commonly refers to the act of skin removal, from the verb to skin.

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This is usually done with dead animals, mainly as preparation for consumption of the meat beneath and/or for use as fur (optimally requiring further treatment).

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• The skin can also be used as a trophy or a simple proof of the kill to collect a premium form health, agricultural, or other authorities, in the case of a species that has been declared a pest, such as rats.
• However it can also be performed on live humans as a form of corporal punishment, known as flaying (see that article). As the removal of all (or most) or a person's skin is terminal, as well as extremely painful, this is an effective method of capital punishment.
• The word scalping refers specifically to the removal of the skin from the skull, which is usually performed on a dead victim; in itself it implies grave risk (meanly of bleeding and infection), but can occasionally be survived.