"Hides and skins are a renewable resource of national and international significance. They provide scope for exploitation on a sustainable long-term basis. More particularly, production and marketing of hides and skins provide opportunities to support and sustain livelihoods especially in rural areas. As a resource, hides and skins are the raw materials for various types of businesses – such as collecting, processing and distributing – which provide many service jobs in countries where livestock are produced. Currently, hides are mainly used for footwear, upholstery, leather goods; skins are used for clothing, particularly as coats, gloves, leather goods and footwear. It is also used for bookbinding. Many traditional drums, especially hand drums like the pandeiro, continue to be made using natural skins.

This book contains seven chapters. Chapter 1 presents an introduction to hides and skin. It gives a brief history of hides and skins production. It focuses on international trade in hides and skins. Also discusses about hides and skins as a by-product. Chapter 2 focuses on general characteristics of hides and skins. It describes the chemical composition of hides and skins. Also illustrates the structure of hides and skins. Finally, it evaluates the variability and projections of hides and skins. Chapter 3 focuses on origins and characteristics of hides and skins. It discuss the major and minor sources of hides and skins as Demand for hides and skins, leather and leather products, expressed in raw equivalent, and is assumed to depend on the world price of hides and skins, income and on past trends in consumption. Chapter 4 focuses on pre and peri slaughter operations. The slaughter of livestock involves three distinct stages: pre-slaughter handling, stunning and slaughtering. Pre-slaughter handling is a major concern to the livestock industry, especially the pork industry. The various operations involved in the preparation of hides and skins are most easily classified according to when they occur with respect to the time of slaughter. Accordingly, the first of three such periods is designated pre-slaughter. It covers the greater part of the animal’s life, from its birth to about the time it is collected for delivery to the slaughterhouse. Chapter 5 focuses on defects of hides and skins.

The processing of hides and skins also generates by-products, which find outlets in several industry sectors such as pet and animal food production, fine chemicals including those used in photography and cosmetics, and soil conditioning and fertilizers. Chapter 6 highlights on preservation of hide and skin. To obtain good quality raw inaterial hides and skins are to be flayed immediately after death or slaughter. Undue delay in flaying leads decomposition resulting in inferior quality of hides and skins. In this chapter, you will learn how to preserve the hide and skins for good quality leather preparation. Chapter 7 focuses on utilization of hides such as leather is used for car & furniture upholstery, luggage, wall painting, gloves, hats, coats, dress, handbags, wallets, bookbinding’s & numerous other products. In the world of sports, leather is essential-cricket, soccer & rugby ball are made by leather. And then there are such items as boxing gloves & head guards, football, boots, saddles & harnesses, ski & riding boots, leather gloves & leather covered steering wheels help racing drivers to keep their under precise control. Protective motorcycle racing leather has helped to reduce serious injuries in accidents."