Your answer may be chicken wire - that hexagonal pattern woven wire used to make fox resistant chicken coops. Just make a cylindrical shape big enough to accommodate the plant and wire the ends together - then place the plant inside making sure the bottom of the cylinder is pegged down securely. If using pots you can either tie the cylinder to the pot or run a couple of wires from side to side under the pot. A friend had an 'indoor' rabbit that learnt to climb plant stands from her cats, that was how she kept her balcony garden safe. People often throw out odd pieces of chicken wire so you may be able to salvage some for free from cleanups/trash depots.
Ah, yes, that would definitely work. Though I can't rule out that I have accidentally sheared off the top of the one plant myself, the hare and the slugs would have had a harder time! I was not suspecting any of that to happen, though.
Also... it's a lot of pots, including quite small ones, and while it's a bit annoying to lose a plant or two, it would be a lot of work to provide all the pots with a wire cylinder. So I guess laziness will prevail, and I'll take my chances in the future again. Though I'll probably try to keep the special ones out of hare's way by placing them somewhere higher!