Abstract: A multi-purpose cutting device for removing the spinal cord and spinal meninx lining of the spinal cord of a slaughtered animal which has been longitudinally cut in two along the length of the spinal cord. The cutting device comprises a rotary cutting tool having a hub with radially outwardly projecting cutting fingers equidistantly spaced apart around the hub. The cutting fingers have blunt ends and are of substantially uniform length. A pair of circular saw blades are rigidly secured to opposite faces of the cutting tool. The saw blades have a circumference that approximately matches the effective circumference of the working ends of the cutting fingers. In use, when the cutting device is powered by a drive motor, the cutting fingers and saw blades rotate in unison. The cutting fingers rotate to remove the spinal cord and spinal meninx from the carcass while the saw blades cut into bone along opposite sides of the meninx.