Terminology: horse slaughter or horse processing

I am writing a short college article, based on the topic of horse slaughter. I am attempting to convince my audience that horse slaughter is okay, but I feel the term is too "harsh"; that it may make them cringe and devalue my opinion.

What do you think? Would it be safe to use the terms interchangeably for the purpose of my paper or would that be wrong in some way?

Thanks for any and all input!

Just to be clear, the term horse slaughter is most often used, I want to know if it's okay to use the term horse processing.

Processing. Butcher, slaughter etc have a negative feel to them for most of the general public. Example, a horse was butchered. Omg!! Or a horse was processed. Hmmm that sounds like a controlled situation. Just how I'd see it for the general masses.
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Good input! I definitely agree

I also like the term "horse processing" better than "horse slaughter".
Good luck on your paper!
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We 'process' cattle, chicken, hogs and other livestock. The term 'slaughter' is generally used for the shock value for those innocents who think meat comes shrinkwrapped from the grocery stores.

Your not going to sway anyones opinion one way or the other simply by using sugar coated phrases. It is what it is. Id think using rose colored words would imediately turn me off.
Case in point. All the state parks in VA were closed recently for managed deer hunts, IE they going to shoot a bunch of deer.
Parks out west had a sign, PARK CLOSED FOR MANAGED DEER HUNT DAYS.
Parks around liberalville cities in eastern part of state,
"Parks closed for wildlife resource management activities"
Give me a frikking break.

Lol, your example is good.
My intention is not to sway their opinion with my sugar coated words, but to phrase my argument to have subconscious impact. I don't want my audience to read the first line of "horse slaughter" and instantaneously recall all the reasons they are against it. Whether or not they agree with me, I want them to think about both sides, which is hard to do if you have a closed opinion. For example, I asked my sister what she thought of the two words without the context of horses. She said slaughter made her think of blood and guts, and rough treatment. Processing made her think of a more humane end. While it isn't necessarily true, It is a very real response that I know she shares with my targeted audiences.

I think your audience probably isnt that dumb and will be insulted by your euphemisms. It is what it is. Make your case.

Slaughter is only one step of the whole thing, so it's used incorrectly to start with. Processing includes everything from slaughtering to the finished product ready for packaging. So 'processed' is actually more correct than using the word 'slaughter' to describe what happens.