Skinning, a gerund from the verb to skin, commonly refers to the act of skin removal.
The process is usually done with animals, mainly as a means to prepare the muscle tissues beneath for consumption and/or for use of the fur or tanning of the skin. The skin may also be used as a trophy, sold on the fur market, or used as proof of kill when collecting a bounty (reward) from a government health, agricultural, or game agency, in the case of a declared pest.
Skinning, when it is performed on live humans as a form of capital punishment, murder, or religious sacrifice, is referred to as flaying.