I have no doubt it's a brutal process, I just don't trust PETA.
They made the same 'cut up while still alive' claim about beef cattle in slaughterhouses. (When, if they actually observed a slaughterhouse, they'd find that it is extremely humane.) They made farmers out to be freaks who like to mutilate live animals, and they tend to categorize everyone who isn't a total vegan as some sort of complete monster. I've reached the point where I assume everything they say is either a complete lie, an uninformed statement or extremely exaggerated.
I was also commenting on how it would be difficult to remove skin from a wriggling, moving animal that could just as easily bite you if you need to get the skin off intact.