An apparatus for skinning fur-bearing animals, in particular mink, comprising holding means (25) from which an animal may be suspended with the hind paws, said holding means being mutually movable to stretch the hindquarters of the animal, a movable knife (43) adapted to make a cut from one paw across the hindquarters to the other paw, a skin loosening means (76) adapted to loosen the skin on the stomach through the cut made, a knife device having two knives (77) preferably rotating in opposite directions, said knifes (77) cutting the anus and the testicles, if any, free in a first operation and cutting the tail of the animal longitudinally in the second operation, a set of grippers (96) intended to engage the legs of the animal and a second set of grippers (66) intended to engage the skin, said two sets of grippers being adapted to the moved mutually to strip the skin from the body. The apparatus permits skinning of an animal in one working procedure, while previously several individual subprocesses have been required.