The invention relates to a device for cutting and stripping meat (1), said device being used to divide up an animal product (28) to be cut. Said device comprises a cutting bench (2) that is mounted on a trestle (3) and a circular blade (6) that is mounted on said bench. A motor (10), which is equipped with a gear (11) that is attached to a flange, is connected to a rotating shaft (12) to produce the drive and is positioned above the rotating shaft (12) on one side on a pivoting arm (8), which is fixed to the trestle in a discharge zone (2A) behind the circular blade (6). Said pivoting arm is narrow (8), extends in approximate alignment with the circular blade (6) and is mounted on the trestle (3) by means of a pivoting articulation (19) that is fixed to the cutting bench (2). The pivoting actuator (29) of the pivoting arm (8) is a spindle drive (29), which is connected in an articulated manner to the pivoting arm (8). A gap wedge is provided in the region between the pivoting arm (8) and the circular blade (6), said wedge being adjusted to produce a narrow gap, thus almost completely filling said region.