A conveyor for a loin puller machine has a plurality of rigid belly slats and chine slats to support the carcass which is carried past knives or blades on the machine for skinning, trimming, and cutting the meat carcass. The belly slats and chine slats are attached to chains extending around a drive roller and an idler roller to form an endless loop. The belly slats have a flat upper surface and the chine slats have a curved upper surface corresponding to the belly portion and chain portion of the carcass. The belly slats and chine slats are spaced apart from one another to define a gap through which the cutting blades of the machine extend.

A knife blade for a loin puller machine to cut pork carcasses includes an elongated member with opposite upper and lower mounting ends to mount the blade to the machine. The mounting ends are offset with respect to one another, with a cutting edge extending angularly between the opposite mounting ends. Angular orientation of the cutting edge causes the cutting edge to enter the meat sequentially between the opposite ends of the cutting edge, thereby providing a cleaner cut with improved yield and less blade wear when the carcass is not firm.

A cutting device for cutting loose a rectum end portion of an animal carcass, includes: a carrying member; a drilling member rotatably mounted on the carrying member having a tubular drilling wall portion surrounding an interior drilling space; a centering mandrel arranged coaxially with the drilling wall portion, the mandrel having a leading end configured to enter an anal opening of the carcass, at least a portion of the mandrel circumferentially surrounded by the drilling wall portion so as to define an annular space circumferentially surrounding the mandrel; suction means for applying suction to the interior drilling space via one or more inlet openings. The cutting device defining one or more venting openings, different from the one or more inlet openings and different from the open cutting end, configured to allow air to enter the interior drilling space.