Between the Trollsen twits and cruel reality show "celetestants", I'm soooo ready to say, "Bye-bye, '09. Hello, 2010."

We at PETA are feeling optimistic about the New Year. But before we ring it in, let's have a look at 2009's low points and our predictions for 2010's animal-friendly hot topics and trends.

Now let's all raise our glasses to compassion for all!

Written by Karin Bennett

I just wanted to give you a quick update on the sealers trapped in the ice in Newfoundland.

Well, it turns out that there are still hundreds of hunters trapped, and now they’re starting to run out of food, water and fuel. The Canadian coast guard is working hard to rescue them before it’s too late. Now I don’t wish suffering on anyone, not even callous hunters who cruelly kill baby seals who are too young to even swim or get away, but the good news here is that since so many hunters have been stuck for so long, it looks like they’re going to come up around 60,000 seal pups short of their quota this year, which means that a whole bunch more of these cute little dudes will actually get to grow up . . . and that, of course, is a very good thing!

Is it me or is the karmic irony in this story almost too much to handle? Check out this ABC News piece for the full report.