In animals whose skin is thick and sparsely covered with almost stiff hair (bristles), such as pigs, the removal of the bristles, before evisceration and sectioning of the carcass, was done by skinning.
Skinning pigs was traditionally done by pouring boiling water over the killed animal, often placed on a stretcher or in a tub, followed by scraping the skin with an instrument called a bell.
The bell is a conical metal tool, hollow and equipped with a hook at one end. Held with one hand and placed with the opening facing downwards and at an angle to the animal's body, it allowed the hair to be removed by rubbing against the pig's skin.
Another technique used to deprive the dead pig of hair was through burning the bristles with bundles of straw or flaming torches.